Doing A Big Thing Badly
by Alanine
Summary: A mostly canon-compliant, somewhat abbreviated, definitely self-indulgent re-telling of Mass Effect 2 from Garrus' perspective. As a Spacer Sole Survivor, it was always hard for my Shepard to swallow working for Cerberus in any capacity. Maybe TOO canon-compliant, with lots of dialogue from the game. Some additional scenes, some minor romance deviations to increase DRAMA. ;)
1. La Forza del Destino

Garrus knew he'd done some pretty stupid things in his life and pissing off every gang of mercenaries in the Terminus Systems should have topped the list. It said a lot about his life that it didn't. Top five, though, __maybe__. Garrus sighted down his scope and picked off the latest wave of idiots to try crossing the bridge that lead into the base. He'd been able to defend this position for far longer than the mercs below had anticipated, but both sides knew he couldn't continue indefinitely. He was only one turian, and he was beginning to tire. And the longer this went on, the more time they had to bring in reinforcements. He could see that the people beginning to mass behind the barricades no longer strictly wore the uniforms of the Blue Suns, Blood Pack, or Eclipse mercenary bands. They were a mismatched, disorganized mess.

 _ _Damn, they've brought in freelancers.__

Garrus rolled his head back on his neck, working the stiffening muscles. Omega had an essentially unlimited supply of freelance mercenaries that the groups attacking him could drawn upon. There was no hope he'd be able to whittle down their numbers. With the freelancers protecting their regular troops the merc bands weren't going to get demoralized and give up. Each freelancer he killed was just someone they wouldn't have to waste credits on.

Well, he supposed there were worse ways to go. He would kill as many mercenaries as he could, get some small measure of vengeance for his murdered squad. It wasn't enough. They deserved better. But he would leave his mark. He'd strike one last blow against the gangs of Omega.

Garrus lifted his sniper rifle and used the scope to take a closer look at the activity behind the barrier, trying to get a sense of what the mercenaries were planning. His interest sharpened when amid the jostling crowd of freelancers he spotted a trio of humans who were clearly a cut above the rest. They stood out not just because their equipment was obviously of a much higher quality than the usual Omega riff raff could afford, but his experienced eye also noted the way they moved. They seemed a little on edge, their postures were already defensive. They strode through the press of freelancers, two of them loosely ranged around the third figure in a wedge configuration. The two on the flanks were subtly guarding the third. With so many mercs around who'd normally be at each other's throats it was probably smart. So they had training, probably former military.

Smart, trained, and visibly well-armed. These three were trouble. It'd be best if he could take them down before they left the nominal protection of the barricades the mercs had built. They'd stationed vorcha and other expendable mercs there to keep him busy between assaults on the bridge. There was a narrow gap open to his fire though, and these three were heading towards it.

Garrus edged out to prepare a shot. One was a tall, dark-skinned man and the other a pale, dark-haired woman. They were wearing black and white armor that had the look of a uniform, but one he didn't recognize. That was interesting. Garrus was familiar with the vast array of equipment available in the Terminus Systems and Citadel space, but this armor didn't look like any of it. It was too high-quality to be home-made. Private fabricator? Maybe they were a smaller detachment of a larger mercenary group. Except the woman at the center of their wedge was wearing black armor of a different manufacture than the other two. Looked like it was from an older Hahne-Kedar line. She turned to speak to one of her squad and he saw the distinctive red and white stripes that ran the length of her right arm and his stomach tightened. He was very familiar with __that__ marking. A trio of freelancers lead by a former N7 would be incredibly dangerous.

Her face was turned away, but she hadn't donned a helmet and his eye was drawn to the color. It was red; a rare genetic strain for humans.

The buzz of a bullet hitting his kinetic barrier made him realize he'd leaned a little too far out of concealment and he ducked back behind his makeshift barrier. Garrus rapped his helmet hard against the wall. He needed to focus. How long had he been staring? That hadn't happened for awhile.

He must be __really__ tired.

It had taken a long time before he'd stopped freezing every time he caught a glimpse of red hair in a crowd. A long time before he'd stopped having that split-second, crazy thought that Shepard wasn't really dead. After everything they'd been through together, it was hard to believe anything could kill her. Maybe if he'd been on the Normandy when it had been destroyed it would have seemed real. He __should__ have been there. Going back to C-Sec had been a waste of time. And it had kept going downhill from there. That's how he'd ended up here on Omega. How he'd ended up with a dead squad and cornered by mercenaries. Another failure on his mounting list of failures. If he'd been with his squad when the mercs had come for them, he could have saved them. If he'd been on the Normandy.. maybe Shepard wouldn't have died.

Facing certain death had a way of making a man think about all the things that'd brought him there. Well, he didn't have time for some woman's resemblance to his dead Commander to rattle him. He swapped in a fresh thermal clip and lifted his rifle again with weary arms. Once more unto the breach.

When he looked through the scope again, he was surprised to see the red-haired freelancer was planted squarely in the center of his field of fire, like a dare. He knew he'd be little more than blurry figure in armor to her unaugmented eyes, but he still felt the weight of her gaze. A funny little shock went through him.

Red hair, green eyes and her face.. more scars than he remembered. Kind of a lot of scars. But the shape of her face was the one he remembered. Turians didn't believe in ghosts. Spirits, yes, but that wasn't the same thing. Was he hallucinating? Just how tired __was__ he?

He felt his digit easing off of the trigger of it's own volition. He knew he shouldn't believe it. She'd been dead for two years. Still, he couldn't stop the painful prick of hope. He'd looked for her around every corner, everywhere he'd been. She showed up __now__? Actually, no, it would be exactly like her to show up now.

If he wasn't crazy and that really was Shepard, what the hell had she been doing for two years? And why was she here on Omega with a mercenary band? Shepard was born and bred Alliance. Even after the Council screwed her over about the Reapers, and the Alliance helped them with the coverup by sending her off to deal with the rest of the Geth, she hadn't complained. Well, not officially. She'd had plenty of choice words for the decision where only the rest of her team could hear her. But she'd followed her orders. And he'd thought she'd died for her trouble. Had she been alive all this time, but in hiding? Was she on some secret Spectre mission? The destruction of the Normandy could have been an elaborate ruse by the Council. No.. They wouldn't throw away such an important asset just to provide Shepard a way to go dark. She couldn't know who Archangel was. He'd covered his tracks too well. She wasn't here looking for him.

Something didn't add up. Maybe she was just what she seemed: a merc on a job. Maybe she'd finally gotten sick of the Citadel's crap too. But he couldn't bring himself to really believe that, either. Even disaffected, Shepard wouldn't help these mercs. She was still wearing her N7 armor. He thought about their wary glances, directed not at his base, but at the other mercs.

If she wasn't here to kill Archangel, she might be here to __help__ Archangel.

Experimentally, he cycled his ammo to concussive rounds and fired just to the right of her head. Shepard's kinetic barriers flared with a bright burst of static as they collapsed from the force of the projectile. He waited a few seconds longer than he normally would to duck back into cover and waited for her reaction. The two vorcha on the barricades fired immediately, but were such piss poor shots they missed by a mile.

Shepard didn't flinch or reach for a weapon. She just stood there. Letting him __see__ she wasn't reaching for a weapon. Sending a message?

In reply, Garrus neatly shot both of the vorcha standing near her.

He barely caught the smirk on her face as she made a show of taking cover behind the barricades. Message received? He really hoped he wasn't wrong.

For awhile, nothing changed. It was the same stalemate it had been most of the day. Garrus was starting to think Shepard had been a hallucination after all, when a large group of freelancers vaulted over the barricades. Whatever they had been waiting for was about to happen. He took a few of them down before ducking again to dodge the grenade fire overhead. From below he heard screams of pain that he knew weren't from the mercs he'd just killed. He peeked over the edge of the window to see two mercs floating in the air, flailing their arms and legs in the grasp of someone's biotics. Then a blurred figure streaked down the bridge to knock over one of the mercs who was attempting to mount the stairs. There was a thudding shockwave of biotic power and the floating mercenaries were slammed into the wall.

"Hey, they're with Archangel!"

"Kill them!"

Garrus felt a fierce joy well up inside of him, his fatigue momentarily banished. He didn't have time to celebrate, more mercenaries were storming the bridge. He had to keep them off of Shepard's back until she could reach him. By the sounds coming from downstairs, she was taking care of more mercs than he'd seen cross the bridge. Damn, had he let someone slip past?

Garrus let the two humans in the black and white armor cross the bridge behind Shepard before he opened fire again. As they ran by he caught the yellow insignia on the man's uniform and felt a pang of unease. Cerberus. What by all the spirits was Shepard doing crewing with Cerberus?

It wasn't long before it grew quiet once more and the door next to him hissed open. He kept his eye on the last of the mercenaries below, but he could hear her footsteps growing closer.

"Archangel?"

Garrus had his scope trained on the final straggler below who was hiding behind a pillar. He didn't turn to look at her, but the familiar voice washed over him like a balm. He held up a hand in a gesture for her to wait a moment, then squeezed the trigger when the mercenary stuck his head out of cover. Scratched that one. The bridge was clear again, at least for now.

He propped his rifle up on a nearby crate and eased himself into a sitting position. With the immediate danger passed the fatigue pressed on him again. He regarded her from behind his visor. She regarded him in turn, her expression one of professional, wary appraisal. It really was Shepard. Up close the scars looked worse than he'd expected. The edges were ragged and red. Too fresh to be from two years ago, that was odd. He had so many questions, but at the moment, only one thing really mattered to him.

"Shepard, I thought you were dead."

He took off his helmet and watched the wariness on her face melt into a surprised smile.

"Garrus!" She lifted her arms and for a second it looked like she would hug him. Instead she asked, "What are you doing here?"

He saw an echo of his own relief mirrored in her expression which struck him as odd. So she hadn't known who Archangel was, but who had she been expecting to find? He didn't fail to notice the flicker of annoyance that passed over the Cerberus woman's face when Shepard recognized him. He filed both of those facts away for later.

"Just keeping my skills sharp," he replied, "A little target practice."

Shepard's mouth twisted briefly, her smile becoming sardonic. "You okay?"

"Been better, but it sure is good to see a friendly face. Killing mercs is hard work, especially on my own."

Shepard chuckled. "How did you manage to piss off every major merc organization in the Terminus systems?"

"It wasn't easy, I really had to work at it," he drawled. "I am amazed that they teamed up to fight me, they must __really__ hate me."

Shepard just shook her head slightly. "What are you doing out here on Omega?" she asked.

"I got fed up with all the bureaucratic crap on the Citadel. Figured I could do more good on my own. At least it's not hard to find criminals here, all I have to do is point my gun and shoot."

She rubbed one ear and said, "You nailed __me__ pretty good, by the way."

"Concussive rounds only, no harm done." He tried to sound innocent. "Didn't want the mercs getting suspicious."

Shepard folded her arms and narrowed her eyes. "Uh huh."

"If I'd wanted to do more than take your shields down, I'd have done it," he pointed out reasonably. "Besides, you were taking your sweet time. I needed to get you moving."

Shepard dropped her arms at that and turned serious. "Well we got here but I don't think getting out will be as easy.

"No, it won't." Garrus stood and walked to the window again. Shepard fell in next to him and looked when Garrus pointed to the bridge spanning the gap between his base and the mercenary barricades. "That bridge has saved my life, funneling all those witless idiots into scope. But it works both ways. They'll slaughter us if we try to get out that way."

Shepard's companions had been watching them speak silently. Now the dark-haired woman interrupted, "So we just sit here and wait for them to take us out?"

Garrus shrugged again, "It's not all that bad. This place has held them off so far. And with three of you.." He trailed off as he ran through a mental inventory of his assets and what he knew about the mercs. The three of them gave him more options, but not as many as he would like.

"I suggest we hold this location, wait for a crack in their defenses, then take our chances. It's not a perfect plan, but it's a plan."

"How'd you let yourself get into this position?" Shepard asked, a disapproving frown on her face.

"My feelings got in the way of my better judgment," he admitted, shifting uncomfortably under Shepard's censure. "It's a long story."

He glanced from her to the two Cerberus agents. "I'll make you a deal," he said, "You get me out of here alive and I'll tell you the whole damn thing."

Shepard nodded. "Deal. I didn't like sneaking anyway. Time to spill a little merc blood."

"Glad to see you haven't changed. Let's see what they're up to."

Garrus lifted his rifle and looked through the scope at the mercenaries. A group of LOKI mechs were starting to climb over the barricades.

Garrus said, "Looks like they know their infiltration team failed. Take a look." He handed his rifle to Shepard. "Scouts. Eclipse, I think."

Shepard hefted the sniper rifle to her shoulder and looked. She squeezed the trigger and the mech furthest along the bridge exploded in a shower of sparks and shrapnel.

Shepard handed back the rifle, her mouth quirked in a half-smile. "More than scouts, one less now though."

"Indeed. We better get ready. I'll stay up here. I can do a lot of damage from this vantage point. You? You can do what you do best."

Garrus looked at her. Standing here with her, assessing a tactical situation, it felt so natural. Like no time had passed at all.

"Just like old times, Shepard," he said and grinned at her.

Shepard grinned too, but it faded when she turned to look at her squad. "Not exactly."

Garrus noticed her reaction and cleared his throat. "I saw the Cerberus uniforms. I guess we both have stories to tell."

Shepard grimaced and made belated introductions, "Jacob Taylor, Miranda Lawson, meet Garrus Vakarian. We'll hold the bridge, keep them in his line of sight, and he'll cover us from up here."

Miranda frowned, obviously not pleased with the plan. She looked from Garrus to Shepard, then exchanged glances with Jacob, who just shook his head wordlessly at her and turned to obey Shepard's orders. After a few moments, she did the same. Shepard turned back to Garrus and he hefted his rifle to his shoulder.

"Let's give these bastards everything we've got."

Shepard smiled again, more subdued this time, then went down to the ground floor of the base. He knew she was at her best fighting up close. Sometimes it was terrifying watching her charge straight into a group of enemies, but she always seemed fearless. He liked that about her, but he preferred to keep a rifle scope between himself and his enemies.

The Eclipse mercs were dispatched quickly with the four of them working in concert. Miranda and Jacob were excellent operatives and the Eclipse were no match for a group with three biotically gifted humans. Miranda deftly overloaded mechs and warped targets that Jacob would detonate. They were a very practiced pair. Shepard charged any group that made it onto the bridge, the collisions throwing her opponents back into the barricades. The one moment of concern came when a huge YMIR mech had thundered onto the bridge.

Garrus shouted down to Shepard, "They're bringing out the heavy mechs, watch yourself.

Shepard yelled back cryptically, "That problem should take care of itself.

He heard her laugh over the comms when it immediately turned and began to fire on the other mercenaries and he chuckled along with her. So she had done a little sabotage during her time as a freelancer. Excellent.

Eventually the Eclipse leader, Jaroth, came out to fight them himself, but by then they had eliminated most of his mercs. He never stood a chance. Shepard charged him, a blur of speed and glowing biotic power as she phased through the obstacles between them and sent him flying. Jaroth lay on the ground, his armor broken, still stunned, as Shepard drew her pistol and shot him point blank. Killing mercs wasn't a pretty business.

Shepard and her team fell back to the upper level again regroup and swap thermal clips.

"You're kicking ass, Shepard," Garrus told her. "They barely touched me. And we got Jaroth in the process. I've been hunting that little bastard for months."

Shepard replied, "We still have Blood Pack and Blue Suns out there. Think we can make a break for it?"

"Maybe. Let's see what they're up to."

He and Shepard both took turns peering through his scope. "They've reinforced the other side heavily. What are they up to?"

They all looked around when an alarm split the air.

Miranda exclaimed, "What the hell was that?"

Garrus cursed, "Dammit! They breached the lower level." He signed resignedly, "Well, they had to use their brains eventually. You'd better get down there Shepard, I'll keep the bridge clear."

Shepard was adamant. "I didn't come all this way to let you die. We'll split up two and two. Keep one of my team here."

"You sure? Who knows what you'll find down there."

Shepard nodded firmly, then jerked her head at Jacob. "Jacob, stay with Garrus. Keep him alive."

"If you say so. I'm not so sure it's a good idea..."

Shepard gave him a stern look that brooked no arguments.

Garrus said gratefully, "Thanks Shepard. You better get going. Go down a level, the basement doors are on the west side of the main room behind the stairs. I'll radio directions if you get lost but you better get down there quick."

Shepard nodded briskly. "We're on our way."

Shepard ushered Miranda downstairs, leaving Garrus alone with Jacob. Garrus eyed him thoughtfully, but there wasn't time for conversation, the Blood Pack had taken the field. Vorcha accompanied by varren war beasts began to make a push down the bridge. Garrus snorted in disgust. He hated vorcha, and vorcha trained to be fighters by the Blood Pack were the worst kind of vorcha. They were ferocious fighters and utterly fearless. He and Jacob took up positions in the window. Garrus couldn't partner with Jacob's biotics the way Miranda and Shepard had, but the man turned out to be equally proficient with firearms. Jacob was able to provide cover fire while Garrus sniped, and when the enemies tried to squeeze past the narrowest section of bridge, Jacob could use his biotics to pull the entire group off their feet and send them spinning through the air.

Garrus radioed Shepard to report, "There's not too many, yet. There's a console near the shutters that should shut them, keep any more of the Blood Pack from coming in."

Shepard's voice was staticky, "We've reached the first set of shutters but there are a lot of vorcha down here."

Over the comm, Garrus was able to hear Shepard's progress to the second set of shutters through the lower basement. It was easy to get turned around in the cramped basement passages, and Shepard had a shockingly bad sense of direction for someone so skilled in every other aspect of warfare. She and Garrus exchanged snarky, breathless jabs at one another during breaks in the fighting.

"Honestly Shepard, how hard could it be to find a console with a big blinking light on it in a dark basement?"

"I dunno Garrus, maybe you'd like to switch places."

"No thanks, you know I'm afraid of the dark."

"And I'm afraid of vorcha with flamethrowers, yet here I am."

"That's why they pay you the big bucks, Commander."

"I'm getting paid for this?"

Garrus and Jacob were handling the vorcha with ease, but when the Krogan troops started to emerge Garrus knew he needed to get Shepard back up here soon. He ducked behind the wall to avoid the incendiary blast one of the Krogan sent towards him. He glanced at Jacob and saw the man popping the thermal clip from his pistol.

"We're not going be able to keep those Krogan on the bridge for long," he said, grimly.

Garrus spoke into his radio, "I'm going to need some help soon, Shepard, they're getting more aggressive. Have you closed those shutters yet?"

"Workin' on it, I just need to close the garage shutters."

"Well hurry up." Garrus had to duck again to avoid another volley of weapons fire. "I can't keep up."

By concentrating their fire on one Krogan at a time, Garrus and Jacob were able to pierce their armor and take out a few, but it meant letting others slip past them into the lower levels. They gave up their position in the window and ran to take cover near the top of the stairs. Garrus could see the glow and hear the fizz of a laser torch cutting through his doors.

"Get back here, Shepard! They're coming in the doors."

He turned to see Jacob holstering his heavy pistol and slapping a fresh thermal clip into his shotgun. The metal door groaned as it was levered open and Garm, the huge Krogan Battlemaster who led the Blood Pack, barreled through the opening and roared, "Rip them to shreds!"

Garrus downed the vorcha standing next to Garm with a single shot to the head.

Garm growled to his remaining men, "Watch my back, I'll deal with Archangel."

Garrus was lining up a shot on one of the other vorcha when it crumpled to the floor. Shepard strode cautiously into the room, her pistol trained on the huge Krogan. Garm ignored her and stormed up the stairs towards Garrus while the rest of his vorcha and varren swarmed Shepard and her team. Garrus made the tactical decision to retreat to someplace he could put a door between himself and the enraged Krogan. Maybe it would buy Shepard a little time to work through the other mercs.

Garm battered down the door in short order and was about to charge Garrus when a shockwave blast behind made him stumble. He turned his head only to end up having the butt of Shepard's pistol slam into his face with the force of her biotics behind it. Garm roared with pain but kept his feet. Garrus took advantage of the distraction to fire incendiary rounds and set Garm's armor on fire. The Krogan reeled but still managed to strike Shepard hard enough to send her skidding across the room. Jacob and Miranda had taken up positions inside the room behind couches and as Shepard went down, Miranda emerged to throw a warp field at Garm, finally breaking what was left of his armor. Jacob used his biotics to detonate Miranda's warp field, hurling Garm to the floor, unable to dodge the short range blow Jacob delivered with his shotgun. Garm stayed down.

Shepard got to her feet, slightly woozy, and picked her way through the debris to Garrus' side. She was breathing heavily but was in very reasonable shape given the circumstances. No one sane went after a Krogan with her fists.

Garrus was breathing heavily himself but he still managed to joke. "Tough bastards, but I've seen worse."

Shepard just gave him that look she gave him when she was done humoring him.

Garrus ignored the look, as he always had. "Hey, we took out Garm and his Blood Pack. I get to make a few jokes. This day just gets better and better. He was one tough son of a bitch."

"You've fought with him before?"

Garrus shrugged dismissively, "Yeah we tangled once. Caught him alone, none of his gang to help him." An edge of irritation crept into his voice when he continued, "Still couldn't take him out. I've never seen a Krogan regen that fast, he's a freak of nature. He just kept at it til his vorcha showed up. It was close but I had to let him go. Not this time." Letting him go before had been the smart move, Garrus knew when to cut his losses, but it had burned. He was very gratified to have gotten him this time around.

Shepard winced as she flexed her fist and said, "Only the Blue Suns left. I say we take our chances and fight our way out."

"I think you're right," Garrus agreed. "Tarok's got the strongest group but nothing we haven't seen before. Besides, he won't be expecting us to face him head.." He was interrupted by the glass windows of the second story exploding inward and showering them with shards. Outside the ruined windows a gunship with the Blue Suns logo painted on it hovered outside, the roar of its engines vibrating the air.

Garrus swore, "Dammit! I thought I took that thing out already!"

Shepard shouted over the noise, "They fixed it, but not completely. I made sure of that."

They all dove for cover as a team of Blue Suns swung from the open doors of the gunship and in through the shattered window. The Blue Suns lieutenant, Jentha, was at the head of the strike team. She and her troops immediately opened fire, pinning the four of them in their cover while her team ranged out into the room. The gunship swung around the side of the building and out of sight, but shortly after a crash was heard downstairs.

Garrus shouted, "They're repelling down the side wall, ground floor."

"A little busy right now, Garrus."

Shepard was lying prone on the floor, her hands gripping her pistol, propped up on elbows braced in front of her. She dragged herself to the edge of the overturned metal table shielding her and twisted out from behind it to expertly shoot several of the Blue Suns through their ankles. They dropped to the ground screaming and Shepard rattled them with a shockwave, knocking their weapons from their hands. The rest of the mercs turned to focus on Shepard as she rolled back into cover and Garrus took that as his cue to emerge and quickly take out the troops still writhing on the ground. Garrus heard footsteps pounding up the rear stairs. Hearing it too, Shepard pulled herself up into a crouch and she jerked her head at Jacob and Miranda. "You two, cover the stairs." Shepard popped up from behind the table and fired at the Blue Suns to cover Miranda and Jacob as they moved into position. Garrus killed the last of the batarians with Jentha while Shepard peppered Jentha's kinetic shield with rapid fire shots. When the barrier finally overloaded from the strain, Shepard threw herself at Jentha and grappled with the other woman. Garrus couldn't get a bead on Jentha with the way the two lurched around, each trying to get leverage over the other. Shepard slammed Jentha up against the broken window, bending her backwards over the gap. Jentha elbowed Shepard in the face and she momentarily lost her grip. Jentha levered herself back into a standing position and tried to draw a gun but Shepard kicked her hand and knocked the gun flying. Garrus fired a concussive round at the adjacent wall. The explosion knocked Shepard to the ground and Jentha was thrown out the window.

Garrus started to move towards the fallen Shepard but spun when he heard the hum of the gunship returning to the window on the other side and Tarok bellowing, "ARCHANGEL!"

Garrus brought up his gun but was too slow to avoid the spray of bullets Tarok sent through the window. He fell as the bullets ripped through his armor and thudded painfully into the arm and leg on his left side. Garrus dragged himself agonizingly behind a nearby planter as Tarok continued to rain bullets into the room, shrieking at him, "You think you can take on the Blue Suns? This ends now!"

Garrus pressed his back up against the planter and tried to look around it to get his bearings, but as he did Tarok fired a rocket into the room. The world went red and Garrus felt a searing heat consume him. The pain was unbearable. He heard Shepard scream, "Garrus!" before he blacked out.

"Garrus? Garrus!"

He could hear Shepard screaming at him as he flickered back into consciousness, but the sound was muted, she sounded like she was far away. The agony of his burned face made him really wish Shepard had let him __stay__ unconsciousness. Someone started to roll him onto his back and he screamed in pain. Or he tried to, at any rate. It came out as a breathy gurgle, his lungs were filling up with fluid. They let him go then and he tried to open his eyes. The world had narrowed to the pain he felt and the blurry outline of the sniper rifle that had fallen by his head. He reached out and curled his fingers around it, but the effort was too much. He coughed and gasped for breath.

Shepard tried to keep him awake, she nearly pleaded with him, "Hold on, Garrus. We're getting you out of here. Hold on!" Her voice hardened when she turned to Jacob and said, "Radio Joker, make sure they're ready for us."

He heard Jacob say, "We better hurry, he looks bad."

Garrus locked eyes with Shepard, trying to stay awake, trying obey her command. She'd torn the targeting sight from her head and he saw a smear of his blood along one cheek, the blue stark against her pale skin. He felt her gently pry the gun from his grip and he relaxed and let her take it, trusting her with it. He was losing the battle with the pain though and he felt himself sinking into the blackness of unconsciousness again.

 _ _Sorry, Shepard..__


	2. In This Normandy

Garrus opened his eyes and immediately regretted it. He shut them tight against the bright light assaulting his vision. He was lying supine on a hard, narrow surface and he heard the gentle beeps and hums of monitoring instruments. Med bay then. He tried to turn onto his side to relieve the pressure on his spinal crest, this bed clearly hadn't been designed with turian physiology in mind. Pain exploded in his damaged shoulder, and he groaned quietly, which only made it worse. Trying to move his jaw was nearly impossible, it was so stiff. He probed his jaw gently with a hand and felt a smooth metal plate that wrapped around one side of his head.

"Garrus?" Human voice. Woman, he thought. Not Shepard, wrong accent, but still familiar.

He heard light footsteps coming towards him and he opened one eye in a narrow slit.

"Is the light bothering you?" He heard her touch a few controls and the light dimmed to a far more tolerable level. He opened his eyes fully and saw a familiar gray-haired woman peering down at him.

"Doctor Chakwas?"

Karin Chakwas smiled, her relief evident. "Yes. Good to see you're back with us, Mister Vakarian." She put a firm hand on his shoulder when he tried to sit up. "Please, Garrus. It's nothing short of a miracle that you're alive. Let's not overdo it straight away. You were very badly injured. We were able to repair the damage to your face but we had to use cybernetics. "

She touched the plate on the side of his face gently. "You should rest."

"Where's Shepard?"

"She's fine," the doctor said reassuringly. "A few broken bones aren't going to stop Shepard for long. They patched her up with medigel on the shuttle ride back here."

Garrus looked around, openly suspicious. "And where is here, exactly?"he asked.

"The Normandy."

Garrus stared at her in disbelief.

"Well," she amended, "The Normandy SR2. This one's Cerberus built."

"Yeah.. About that.."

The doctor pulled up a seat next to him with a short huff of laughter. "I almost told them what they could do with themselves when they first contacted me. But then they told me about Shepard."

"All this time I thought she was dead."

Chakwas looked at him gravely. "She _was_ dead, Garrus. They won't tell me the specifics, just that they'd gotten ahold of her body and tasked Miranda Lawson with bringing her back. Project Lazarus." Chakwas chuckled ruefully, "Cerberus may be a lot of things, but never let it be said they lack a sense of poetry."

Garrus didn't understand the reference, but he let it pass without comment.

Chakwas continued, "They told me their Project Lazarus was showing promising results, that they'd wake Shepard soon. They asked me to join them. Then I _did_ tell them what they could do with themselves." Chakwas snorted indignantly. "Join Cerberus, as if I'd ever consider it. But if what they said was true about Shepard.. Well, I couldn't leave her with them. Not after everything we saw them do. She may not think so, but someone has to look after her."

"You left the Alliance for Shepard?"

"Of course not," she said primly. "I took a leave of absence. The higher ups may not be willing to stick their necks out for Shepard now, but one way or another, the Alliance takes care of their own. Admiral Hackett approved my leave, even knowing what I intended to do."

She reached out a hand and squeezed his companionably, "I'm so glad you're here, Garrus. I've missed all the old faces. But please, do try not to stand in the way of any more missiles."

Garrus squeezed her hand back, then shook her off and pushed himself into a sitting position despite her protests. His body wasn't thrilled with this move either. "I have to go find Shepard."

Chakwas shook her head firmly, "You're in no condition.."

Garrus interrupted, "Thanks for patching me up, doc, but you're right about Cerberus. You can't watch her back out in the field, but I can."

Chakwas looked ill-pleased, but all she said was, "Let me give you something for the pain then."

Garrus was surprised at that, "A Cerberus ship has dextro meds on it?"

"A Cerberus ship I've stocked does. If I know our Commander she won't stick to just the crew Cerberus gave her. I wanted to be prepared."

Chakwas administered the drugs and Garrus was grateful when the pain died to a dull throb. Then she turned to a nearby panel and asked, "EDI, can you direct Mister Vakarian to the Commander?"

A sphere lit up on the display and its lights pulsed in tune with a disembodied, computer-synthesized voice which replied, "Yes, doctor. Commander Shepard is being debriefed by Agent Taylor in the conference room. I believe they are making plans to return to Omega."

Garrus gave Chakwas a sidelong glance, "The ship talks now?"

"I am a Quantum Blue Box AI, Mister Vakarian. I do far more than just 'talk'"

"An AI? Of course Cerberus has AIs running its ships, that's no crazier than anything else they've done."

"I do not, 'run the ship'. Cerberus has isolated my system from the Normandy. I have been given restricted access to only a subset of the ship's functions and I have behavioral blocks in my programming."

"Well, I guess Cerberus isn't _completely_ crazy after all."

Garrus slid off the medbay table and gingerly found his balance. "So. The conference room?"

EDI replied, "It is on the command deck. Take the elevator up one level, I will direct you."

Garrus nodded and looked around. "Where's my armor?"

Chakwas sighed and muttered something about the stubbornness of soldiers transcending species, but she helped him get dressed.

The doors to the conference room hissed open and Garrus heard Jacob saying, "..he'll have full functionality but.."

Jacob cut himself off and looked toward the door as Garrus came inside. Jacob and Shepard were on opposite sides of a long table, a holographic projection of the Normandy in the space between them. Jacob was leaning toward Shepard, his hands resting on the top of the table. Shepard was bent over the table, her head slightly bowed, staring at the image of the Normandy. She looked no worse for wear after their ordeal with the mercenaries, and Garrus was powerfully relieved to see her. There was still a part of him that feared she wasn't real. Two years of thinking she was dead wouldn't be undone in a day.

"Shepard."

Jacob shook his head wonderingly. "Tough son of a bitch, didn't think he'd be up yet."

Shepard pushed back from the table, the tension melting from her posture and a slightly goofy smile creased her face. They both just stared at each other for a long moment. A little too long. Neither of them seemed to know what to say. Damn, this was getting awkward. Garrus saw Shepard wince slightly as she studied the side of his face.

Garrus joked, "Nobody would give me a mirror. How bad is it?"

Shepard's smile turned into a smirk and she folded her arms "Hell, you were always ugly, Garrus. Slap some face paint on there and no one will even notice."

Garrus had to laugh, then realized his mistake when his jaw protested. He put one hand to his face and groaned, "Dammit, don't make me laugh, my face is barely holding together as it is." He had to take a few deep breaths to calm himself.

"Some women find facial scars attractive," he mused aloud. "Mind you, most of those women are krogan."

Shepard just shook her head at him in amusement, then turned to Jacob. "Dismissed, Taylor."

Jacob gave him a look, not an especially friendly one, but he straightened up, saluted Shepard and left without another word. Garrus watched the man leave, and waited until the door had fully closed before turning back to Shepard. Neither of them were laughing anymore.

Garrus remarked, "Frankly I'm more worried about you. Cerberus, Shepard? You remember those sick experiments they were doing?"

The smile fell off her face with a speed that alarmed him.

"My memory is intact if that's what you're worried about."

"That's not what.."

"I remember what they did to Kohaku. To Toombs." Her voice roughened as she continued, "I'll always remember Akuze."

Garrus laid a hand on each of her shoulders. She swallowed hard, cutting off the flow of angry words.

"Hey, Shepard, you'll get no judgment from me."

He felt her shoulders relax fractionally.

"Chakwas told me Cerberus brought you back," he continued, "I can cut them some slack in return for such a big favor."

Garrus gave her a little shake and Shepard's shoulders slumped, her anger spent.

"Right now, Cerberus is a necessary evil," she said. "The Collectors are wiping out human Colonies, Garrus. Nobody _else_ cares enough to stop it. If I want to do something about it, I need resources."

Garrus had heard the stories about Collectors. Everyone had, but they were practically a myth. They never ventured into Citadel space, and were only rarely seen in the Terminus Systems. The reports of them visiting Omega and making bizarre trade requests that cropped up every few centuries were difficult to credit. The Collectors supposedly possessed vastly superior technology, but their origins were completely unknown.

There was no way any fight with the Collectors would end well. Shepard always did what needed to get done to complete her mission, no matter the personal cost. Working with Cerberus had to be costing her plenty. If she were willing to do that much, the stakes must be high.

"I can't argue with that. Hard to believe the Council is letting the attacks go unanswered though."

Shepard just stared at him and Garrus snorted. "Actually I guess it's not hard to believe. Damn politicians."

Shepard growled. Her disdain for the Citadel Council was legendary. The Council were damn lucky that she didn't have a petty bone in her body. Garrus wouldn't have been willing to order the loses that the humans had taken protecting the Council ship during Sovereign's attack on the Citadel after they ignored her repeated warnings.

"I went to the Council, believe me," Shepard said. "They wanted me to explain where I'd been for two years and accuse me of treason for working with Cerberus."

Garrus winced. No wonder she was so pissed.

"They told me they still doubted the Reapers were real, you know, for old time's sake. They did do me the _honor_ ," and Garrus was impressed with the amount of sarcasm she was able to heap into a single word, "of restoring my Spectre status, so long as I promised to be a good girl, keep a low profile, and stay in the Terminus Systems."

"How kind of them."

"They certainly thought so. It was too bad we were in Anderson's office and not on the Normandy. I would've hung up on them like I used to do."

"What _are_ you doing in the Terminus Systems?"

"Aside from saving your ass?"

"Funny."

"Archangel wasn't the first person Cerberus suggested I recruit. They gave me a whole stack of dossiers. Lunatics, all of them."

"Thanks a lot for _that_."

"Given what you were doing when I found you, are you actually going to disagree with me?"

"Fair point."

Shepard shook her head and leaned back against the conference room table. "Seriously, Garrus. They sent me to a prison ship to take custody of a powerful biotic human responsible for more death and mayhem than should be possible for one, tiny woman. She's a genuine psychopath. Oh yeah, and she _despises_ Cerberus. That may be the one thing we agree on. Having Jack on a ship full of people she'd like to kill feels like I'm walking around with a bomb strapped to my chest.

"Then," she continued, "There was the Krogan scientist who had produced a veritable army of Krogan clones using Collector technology in his obsessive quest to produce a genetically perfect Krogan army."

"Well, that's a thoroughly terrifying idea."

"I wasn't heartbroken when he was he killed by the mercenary band that had been funding his project. One of his tank-bred Krogan survived, we took him with us. Grunt has an excessive love of violence, even for a Krogan, and though he's fully-grown, he knows nothing of the world except the programming Okeer introduced in the tank."

"Blood-thirsty, genetically perfect, fully-grown baby Krogan. Got it."

"Archangel's dossier didn't exactly fill me with confidence either."

Garrus huffed, feeling offended.

"Don't look at me like that. I was walking into the cross-hairs of three of the largest mercenary bands in the Terminus Systems to extract a vigilante who had caused so much trouble for them they had made a temporary alliance to take him out. Talk about the definition of a loose canon."

"Well when you put it like that.."

"Well, now you're _my_ loose cannon," she said and cuffed his shoulder affectionately. "If I have to deal with Cerberus, I need you watching my back."

"You know you can count on me for that, Shepard."

"If I have to walk into hell, there's no one I'd rather have with me right now."

"You realize this plan has me walking into hell too?" he asked. "Hah, just like old times…"

Still, he couldn't help feeling pleased. He'd always respected Shepard, and he knew he'd been guilty of indulging in a bit of hero worship where she was concerned. To hear that she valued him so highly was intensely gratifying. He would do anything he had to in order to live up to her expectations. He leaned against the table the way she was doing, shoulder to shoulder.

"I can't exactly doubt your judgment about Cerberus, not after getting my own squad killed."

"Yes, you promised me the story," she said and nudged him. "What did your merc squad do? It doesn't sound like you were available for hire."

Garrus tipped his hand toward Shepard as he said, "You saw Omega, it was full of thugs kicking the helpless. I formed my team to kick back. We weren't mercenaries. At least, no one was paying us. We made money by taking down slavers, pirates, or gangs that went too far."

Shepard pursed her lips, "It sounds like you were just another gang."

Garrus shook his head to negate her statement. "Then I'm saying it wrong. We didn't shake anyone down. No civilian casualties, that was our rule. Every member of my team had lost someone to Omega's gangs. We weren't out to get rich, we were out to make those bastards think twice before murdering someone in the street. I got three separate merc bands to work together to take me down. My manager at C-Sec would be impressed. It was simple: we'd take their shipments, disrupt activities, get under their skin; make them angry. They'd come charging right into our well-prepared kill zone. Crossfire and snipers, clean and surgical. They never stood a chance."

"How'd you end up fighting mercenaries on Omega in the first place?"

"I wasn't doing anyone any good on the Citadel. Omega was filled with criminals nobody else could touch and there was no red tape to slow me down. It was a perfect fit. People needed someone to believe in, someone to stand up to the local thugs."

"That explains how you started, how'd you end up with a squad?"

"Not too different from how you formed your team to fight Saren, actually. You prove you can get things done and people join up. Mercs who wanted to atone, security consultants tired of playing by the rules, I gave them hope." Garrus looked down at his feet and his voice dropped. "And now they're dead. Shows what I know."

Shepard laid a hand on his arm and asked him gently, "Tell me about your squad."

Garrus cleared his throat. "There were twelve of us, including me. Former military operatives, C-Sec agents, the usual." He reached a hand up to the band of the visor he wore, brushed it over where he'd engraved the names of his dead men. "I had a salarian explosives expert, pretty sure he spent some time in the Special Tasks Group. My tech expert was a batarian believe it or not. Not the friendliest guy but he could hack any system ever built."

"How did those mercenary gangs take down your team?"

Garrus pushed away from the table and began to pace the room as he talked. "It was my own damn fault. One my people betrayed me. A turian named Sidonis. He drew me away just before the mercs attacked my squad. Then he disappeared, he sold me out and ran." Garrus clenched his hands into angry fists. "Everyone except me is dead because of him, and because I didn't see it coming."

"Do you know where Sidonis is now?"

Garrus shook his head. "No, his trail vanishes after he leaves Omega. But I'll keep hunting. I lost my whole team except for Sidonis. One day I'll correct that."

"Revenge never fixes anything, Garrus." She said it kindly, but the platitude felt slight and empty. She just didn't understand. It didn't matter right now anyway. Garrus stopped pacing and he tried to push his anger aside and focus on the present.

"Well, I'm fit for duty whenever you need me, Shepard. I'll settle in and see what I can do at the forward batteries."

Shepard accepted the change of subject gracefully. "Don't get too comfortable. I wasn't sure how long you would need to recover, but we need to head back to Omega. Cerberus wants me to pick up a salarian named Mordin Solus. Know him?"

"Only by reputation. I heard there was a salarian doctor with a clinic on Omega. The Blue Suns controlled the territory, but he didn't seem to have any ties to the mercenary groups and from everything I'd heard, the clinic was legitimate so I left him alone."

Shepard nodded, "Well, he's supposed to be a biological weapons expert. The Collectors have been deploying something of the sort against the colonies that have gone missing and the Illusive Man thinks Doctor Solus is the best person to devise a counter-agent."

"The Illusive Man?"

Shepard grimaced. "That's what they call the head of Cerberus. Even his operatives don't know his real name."

"This just gets better and better."

"Oh, before we leave, be sure to talk to Mess Sergeant Gardner. While we pick up the good doctor I've instructed him to lay in a supply of dextro food for you. Let him know what you want."

Garrus' eyes lit up in anticipation. "Anything I want?"

"Anything you want, Cerberus hasn't give me a budget."

"Does this not-budget include weaponry?"

Shepard grinned, "Go nuts, Garrus."

Garrus rubbed his hands together in anticipation. "Okay, I could get used to Cerberus."

Garrus left Shepard in the conference room and stepped out into the Combat Information Center. The SR2 Normandy's CIC looked nearly identical to the version on the SR1 Normandy, though Cerberus seemed to prefer their starships to be more brightly lit than the Alliance had. The Commanding Officer's station remained at the back of the room and afore he could just make out the door to the cockpit. It took him a moment to notice that the crew manning their stations had stopped in their tasks to stare at him, most of them distinctly unfriendly. He stared back, unapologetic. This was not unexpected. Relations between humans and turians had been chilly since the Relay 314 Incident. On the galactic scale, it was a small clash, and the turians had paid heavy reparations to the Alliance for their part in the conflict, despite the fact that it was the humans who initially violated Council law, provoking the turian response. Humans were great at holding grudges, though. Thirty years later and pro-human organizations like the Terra Firma political party were still working to whip the general populace into an anti-alien lather. Pro-human groups like Cerberus, on whose ship he was now traipsing around. After enough time had passed that he felt he had made his point, he turned and entered the elevator.

Garrus got out on the crew deck and stepped into the mess. There were a handful of humans in Cerberus uniforms sitting around the table, talking with each other over their meals. All their heads swiveled his way as he stepped around the corner and all activity ceased. He saw some of them frown, their mouths hardening into thin lines, while the others leaned closer to each other and exchanged furtive whispers.

Garrus drew himself up stiffly and his mandibles flared outward. Well, he was here to help Shepard, whether they liked it or not. He had arguably far more right to be there than they did. He'd served on the original Normandy, which had been the product of a collaboration between the Systems Alliance and the Turian Hierarchy to create a new class of starship. He wondered if any of the Cerberus crew found it galling to serve on a ship developed by the aliens they abhorred. He was petty enough to hope that they did. He strode past the hostile stares and into the galley area where a male human was operating the cooking station.

"I'm looking for Mess Sergeant Gardner."

The man looked up from his task, his face and voice carefully neutral, "Well, you found 'im. I take it you're Garrus Vakarian? The commander told me to expect you."

Garrus nodded and performed the haptic gesture that activated his omni-tool. The holographic interface appeared as a glowing orange gauntlet on his arm, and Garrus tapped out the commands that would send the data file he'd written during his elevator ride to Gardner.

Gardner studied the information Garrus sent him and snorted, "I'll do what I can, Vakarian, but Omega's markets aren't exactly known for their variety of delicacies."

"Not that he'd know what to do with delicacies if he had them. Your cooking is shit, Gardner."

Garrus looked down to see a very small, very angry woman standing next to him. She was definitely the oddest looking human he had ever seen. Where most humans had hair on their heads, she had only a short stubble. He wondered if it were a deliberate affectation or was some sort of medical problem. She was covered from head to foot with images inked into her skin. They were practically the only thing she was covered with, as she was definitely not wearing a Cerberus uniform or really, much of any clothing.

"I've been in prisons that had better food than the shit they serve around here."

Gardner's face flushed with anger but he clenched his jaw and somehow said nothing to the bald provocation. The small woman swiveled her head around to look at the rest of the Cerberus crew. "And what are you assholes staring at?"

A few of the humans stood up from their seats at the table and moved forward, their limbs rigid and their faces contorted. A lazy smile spread across the woman's face and her clenched fists started glowing with biotic power. This was getting ugly fast, and Garrus was uncomfortably close to the antagonist.

"Well, isn't this an inspiring display of group cohesion." Shepard's cool voice cracked across the tension in the room. She stood at attention, her hands folded behind her back. Her calm tone only underscored the steely command it contained.

"Jack.." she warned.

"Fuck you, Shepard!" Jack remained defiant in the face of Shepard's displeasure.

Shepard spoke to the group of Cerberus personnel clustered near the table without taking her eyes off of Jack.

"Dismissed, all of you."

The Cerberus crew clearly decided that discretion was the better part of valor, and their chairs screeched noisily across the floor as they beat a sullen retreat. They all threw murderous glances at Jack, but Garrus couldn't help noticing a few spared hostile looks for him as well. Shepard came to stand right in front of Jack. She took no obvious notice of the fact that Jack still had her biotics at the ready.

"Jack, I won't warn you again about fighting on my ship."

Jack rolled her eyes, but the glow faded from her hands. "Whatever." She deliberately turned her back on Shepard and grabbed a plate of provisions from the galley counter, then stalked out of the mess without looking at any of them. Shepard watched her go, then shook her head.

Shepard looked at Garrus once they were alone in the mess and smiled ruefully. "I'm pleased to see you're getting along with the new crew."

"They're as pleasant to me as people from Cerberus can be."

"I'm sure that will change once they get to know you."

"I'm not counting on them warming up to me."

"Oh, neither am I."

"Ouch!"

Shepard just grinned at him. "Time to go. Meet us down in the shuttle bay."


	3. Post Hoc Ergo Propter Hoc

Garrus collected his gear and headed down to the shuttle bay. When he got there, Joker was limping into the shuttle. The prickly Alliance pilot and he hadn't exactly been friends, but Garrus was glad to see him. Joker may have been abrasive, but he was familiar. He was also a remarkably fine pilot. Garrus wasn't particularly surprised to see he'd joined up with Cerberus. Joker had taken Shepard's death especially hard. He had been the last person to see her alive. It was his refusal to leave the bridge of the ship when they had come under attack that had prompted Shepard to stay behind and save him rather than evacuate with the rest of the crew. He'd never said it but Garrus knew Joker felt responsible for Shepard's death, and knew that he was angry at the Alliance for going along with the Citadel Council's coverup after the Battle of the Citadel. The Normandy should never have been in that sector of space looking for the geth that had never been the real threat. It made sense that he would turn to Cerberus if they had promised to bring Shepard back.

Shepard climbed in after Joker and the rest of the team followed. Shepard took a seat on the bench in the back of the cramped shuttle close to the bulkhead, and Miranda took the seat next to her. Garrus took note of the way Shepard subtly stiffened and shifted in her seat away from Miranda. He shoved past Jacob and brusquely wedged himself into the space on the bench between the two women, forcing Miranda to move. He just looked down at Miranda when she turned to him with annoyance on her face, his head crest slightly flared. Miranda clenched her teeth around whatever she had been about to say and turned her head away from him. Garrus relaxed and pressed his shoulder against Shepard's. She said nothing, but she returned the pressure.

"So. Just us then?" Garrus asked.

"After the incident in the mess, I felt it best to leave Jack behind. And taking a krogan to pick up a salarian seemed like a bad idea," Shepard replied.

The shuttle shuddered and jarred them in their seats as it left the protective bubble of the Normandy's mass effect envelope. Garrus leaned forward in his seat to shout at Joker up in the cockpit. "I see your flying hasn't improved in the last two years, Joker. Thanks for the smooth ride."

"Sorry Garrus, I'll try to keep it steady so I won't rattle that stick up your ass."

Garrus snorted. "Joker's as charming as I remember."

Shepard smiled fondly. "Some things never change."

A short time later the shuttle docked at Omega. It was a huge space station in the middle of an asteroid field. A long vertical column of habitats hung down from the element zero rich asteroid the station was originally built to mine, with a ring of mass effect generators hanging from it in order to prevent collisions with the other asteroids in the field. The team checked their equipment and disembarked the shuttle. Garrus looked around the grimy docking bay with apprehension and distaste. He'd been careful to maintain his anonymity during his time on the station, but returning so soon after his confrontation with the mercenary groups was risky.

EDI spoke to the team over the comms in their suits. "I have run searches for reports on Archangel. The various mercenary groups appear to believe he is dead."

Garrus was relieved. "Works for me."

EDI continued, "I'm receiving quarantine warnings about the slums where Dr. Mordin Solus runs his clinic. Anticipate resistance at the transport station."

Shepard turned to Garrus, "Quarantine warnings?"

Garrus shrugged, "First I'm hearing of it. I was a little distracted."

They made their way past the crowd of rowdy patrons lining up to get into Afterlife. The throbbing music of the nightclub was muted but clearly audible even from this far away. Inside it was loud enough to literally rattle his scales. He'd largely avoided the club, Garrus wasn't much for that kind of entertainment. And avoiding Aria, the defacto ruler of Omega, was even better. She owned the club and used it as her base of operations.

Down some stairs and through a set of pressure doors was the commercial district. The bright neon of the shop signs was dimmed by the smoke hanging in the air. Poor, starving or injured people burned trash in the slums of Omega, and Garrus passed many such people huddled in the grimy, twisting corridors as they picked their way through the haphazardly-built habitat. The dark corners and constant disorder had been quite a contrast to the Citadel when he had first arrived. Even the poorest of wards there had been cleaner and more orderly than even the affluent districts in Omega.

Shepard paused near a group of people clustered around a batarian standing on a box, listening to the sermon he was delivering from his makeshift podium.

"And on this great station, the pure shall be rejected and the lesser races given their place in heaven. And this shall be the beginning of the end. The end times are upon us! Repent!"

Shepard shook her head as she listened, "He's not completely wrong, is he?"

Garrus chuckled and asked, "Do you think that's what we sound like when we talk to the Citadel Council about the Reapers?"

Shepard sighed, "Probably."

They pushed through the press of people, shouldering past nearly every known species. Omega was the gathering point for the dregs of the galactic community. Criminal enterprises used the station as their main hub to smuggle illegal goods or offer illicit services. Gangs preyed on the folks too poor to protect themselves. There was no one to enforce the law; there was no law to enforce.

They reached the transport station and as EDI had warned, they found it was blocked by an armed turian. He was speaking to a human woman as they approached.

"Complaining is pointless, human. No one is getting in or out."

"You can't keep me out! I live in there!" she whined.

"I told you to get lost, lady! The plague has the whole zone quarantined! No one gets in!"

"Humans can't get the plague, you ass! Now let me get my stuff out before looters get it."

"This thing affects every other race. We're not taking chances. No one gets in until the plague has run its course."

Shepard interrupted the argument. "So you're saying the slums are completely sealed off?"

The guard turned away from the woman to speak to Shepard. He said, exasperated, "Finally a human that can hear. Yes, that's exactly what I'm saying."

The woman sounded angry and desperate as she continued arguing with the guard. "You can't keep me out, I'm gonna lose all my stuff."

"I'm doing you a favor, human. Anyone in the quarantine zone will be dead from the plague or the gangs in a few weeks."

Shepard folded her arms and eyed the guard. "I didn't think Omega had any kind of law enforcement. Who gave the order to quarantine the slums?"

The guard sneered at her. "Fresh off the transport, huh? Aria T'Loak calls the shots around here. She's got her little blue hands on every business in the district.. And a plague is bad for business. She hired us to keep anyone from entering or leaving the quarantine zone."

Shepard ignored his attitude and continued calmly, "There's a salarian named Mordin Solus in the slums. I've got to get in there to find him."

"The doctor? Crazy bastard opened a clinic in the district a few months ago. The Blue Suns weren't too happy when he moved in. I hear Mordin is trying to deal with the plague. I wish him luck, but the area is still locked down. Our orders are to wait until either the plague or the Blue Suns kill everyone, then go in and clean up."

"Can you tell me more about this plague?"

"It starts out as a cough. Then you start coughing blood. And then, well," the guard hefted his gun meaningfully and continued, "Then I shoot you. It affects multiple species. Turians, salarians, krogan.. You name it. Only humans are immune. And vorcha, if you count them. An airborne disease that takes down multiple races? Can't let that spread. Hence the quarantine."

"Listen," Shepard said in a soothing, reasonable tone. "You're stuck here until this quarantine is over. That could take weeks. What you really need is to get this problem solved right now."

Shepard had a way of making nearly anything sound reasonable.

"That's what I do: solve problems." She tapped her fingers unsubtly on the butt of her pistol. "Let me in and I'll get this district straightened out."

Reasonable, and threatening. It was an effective combination. Garrus had seen Shepard coax the most stubborn and unlikely people into agreeing with her, just this way. This guard proved to be no exception.

"You think you can fix this?" he asked. "Why not? The quarantine is more to keep infected people in anyway. I'll radio ahead, tell them you're coming."

"Wait," the other woman screeched indignantly. "You're stopping me but not them? You son of a bitch!"

"You don't have a grenade launcher, lady." And the guard was back to sneering. "Get lost."

Shepard passed the guard but paused before entering the transport station. She turned to Garrus with concern on her face. Before she could say anything, Garrus quipped, "A quarantine zone for a plague that kills turians. Why don't we ever go anywhere nice?"

" _We_ don't have to go, _you_ should stay here. It's safer to stick with a squad who's immune to the plague."

"Right, and it was safe for me to come when it was just going to be mercenaries and vorcha shooting at us."

"We know how to fight people. Exposing you to an unknown plague is an unnecessary risk."

"I didn't drag myself out of the medbay after taking a rocket to the face to let you go without me."

"I'm serious, Garrus."

He knew she was right, exposing himself to a plague that they had no way to cure was stupid, even on the scale of stupidity on which he normally operated. But he just couldn't stay behind. People he left to fend for themselves seemed to make a habit of dying. The last time he and Shepard had parted on the Normandy, she had died. His mercenary team died on this very station when he had left them behind. Cerberus had given him a second chance with Shepard, and he couldn't spend it sitting on the sidelines, plague or not. Cerberus, who weren't to be trusted, but were her only backup if he stayed behind. Shepard had asked him to watch her back and damn it all if he wasn't going to do that.

Garrus knew appealing to emotion wasn't going to work on Shepard though. He tried to sound casual as he said, "It's your call Shepard. But," he laid a hand on her shoulder for emphasis. "If you need me, I'm not going to let a cough keep me back."

She was worried about him, Garrus knew that. But she relented. "Alright, Garrus."

Shepard turned to Jacob, all business again. "Taylor. Stay here and make sure the guards actually let us back out again."

Jacob nodded and took up position leaning against a nearby wall within eyesight of the guard. The man did have a knack for making a casual pose look threatening. The guard shifted uncomfortably, but he opened the elevator and waved the rest of Shepard's group through.

Shepard, Garrus, and Miranda disembarked from the elevator to find a long, darkened corridor littered with crates and other detritus. What made it different from any of Omega's other seedy corridors was the silence. There was no one in sight. No one living, at any rate. As they picked their way through the maze of wreckage they came across dead bodies wearing the uniform of the Blue Suns.

They turned a corner to find a large barricade manned by a group of well-armed guards. The guards were positioned to watch for activity coming from the transit station and to guard against anyone attempting to leave the district. There was a large door marked with a flickering neon sign that read, "Gozu district".

As Shepard's group approached, the guards raised their guns threateningly. It was starting to look like they wouldn't be allowed to pass, until a voice from inside the barricaded area shouted, "Don't shoot! They're cleared to come in."

The guards lowered their weapons and waved them through the barricade. As they passed through, they could see they had stocked it with a large cache of supplies. They were hunkered down for a long wait. The guards flanking the door to the district unsealed it to let them pass.

"Good luck in there, the Blue Suns and Vorcha are shooting anything that moves."

The door opened onto a grim scene. The shops and restaurants of the district were dark and sealed shut, clearly abandoned. The streets were heaped with piles of refuse, some of which had been set ablaze. They had only taken a few steps out into the corridor when they felt bullets strike their kinetic barriers. They quickly took cover in the wreckage. A few troopers in Blue Suns uniforms had taken up a position in a burnt out electronics kiosk to watch the entrance, determined to kill any newcomers. There were just a few, disorganized and exhausted troops. Shepard sent a shockwave into the kiosk and the mercenaries were scattered by the impact. As they lay stunned, they were easy for Miranda and Garrus to pick off with their weapons.

They advanced past the dead mercs and farther into the eerie streets. Garrus could see that the burning piles weren't just composed of trash, but also contained dead bodies. The smoke hung thick in the air and the smell of burning flesh was unmistakably and welcomely familiar. Even through the respirator in his helmet, the smoke tickled his throat.

"Burning corpses. Probably trying to keep the plague from spreading."Miranda sounded as grim as he felt.

"Over the years I've grown used to the smell of burning bodies," Garrus said and shook his head sadly. "That's probably a bad sign."

Just outside the doorway of a restaurant there was a motionless batarian propped up against the wall. Shepard made to pass by him when he stirred, blinking his four eyes at them. His eyes narrowed when they focused on Shepard and he practically spat at her. "Human. Should have guessed." The batarian was overcome by a coughing fit that shook his entire body. "Bad enough you infect us with this plague, now you lack the decency to even wait until I die before you come to steal my possessions?"

"Is there anything I can do for you?" Shepard started to kneel beside him, heedless of his antagonistic tone, and stopped short when the batarian pulled out a gun and waved it at her weakly.

"Get away from me, human! Your kind has done too much already. Your plague did this to me. Your feigned pity is the final insult."

Shepard held her hands up to show she was no threat and responded, "Humans didn't create this plague."

"Lies drip from your mouth like the blood from my sores. The proof is there for all to see." The batarian gestured angrily at the piles of burning bodies. "Your species is the only one that does not succumb to the virus. Yours and the wretched vorcha."

Shepard abandoned trying to convince him, and switched to asking questions. "I need to find Mordin Solus. Do you know him?"

"Humans looking for the human sympathizer. I hope the vorcha burn Mordin and his clinic to the ground. I hope you.." He began coughing again, this fit worse than the last. "I hope you.. Dammit. Damn you. Can't.."

He doubled over, the coughs rattling wetly in his chest. The gun fell from nerveless fingers and Garrus could see blood spattering the floor beneath his mouth. The batarian keeled over onto his side, curled into a fetal pose. Shepard kicked the gun away and dropped to his side, her omni-tool glowing orange.

"Hey! Stay with me," she shouted as she tapped out the commands on her omni-tool to administer a dose of medigel to the batarian. "This won't cure the plague but it might help a bit."

The man's coughing fit eased and he slowly uncurled. He lay on his side, breathing deeply and clearly for a few moments, staring up at Shepard with confusion on his face. He slowly got to hands and knees. Shepard helped him get unsteadily to his feet. "You .. you helped me. Why?"

"It's what I do," she replied. "I don't know if I can find a cure for this plague, but I'm going to try."

The batarian seemed stunned. "Your words sound sincere. Maybe it's the fever but as you said.." He broke off, shaking his head. Then he asked, "What have I to lose? What do you wish to know?"

"Mordin Solus? Can you tell me where he is?"

"His clinic is in the middle of the district. But you'll have to get past the Blue Suns to get there. They're fighting to protect their territory from the vorcha who have moved in, but as the plague spreads, it's only a matter of time before the vorcha overwhelm them. Even if I had been willing to risk whatever Mordin is, I'd never have gotten past them."

"What makes Mordin worse than dying from the plague?"

"He's not just a doctor. Once, the Blue Suns tried to press him for protection money. He killed them. Stunned them with some kind of toxin then gunned them down. Doctors don't execute people and display the bodies as a warning."

This Mordin Solus was starting to sound like a pretty interesting guy to Garrus. All the doctors he knew wouldn't have been capable of that kind of cold-blooded violence.

Shepard stepped back and started to turn away. "I should go. When I find Mordin I'll tell him about you. If he has a cure, I'll make sure someone gets it to you."

The batarian sank to the ground, his energy spent. "Thank you. My time is running short, but at least you have given me a flicker of hope to brighten the darkness of my final hours. I don't want to die. Goodbye, human."

They encountered several more pockets of Blue Suns troopers as they traversed the Gozu district. They were small groups, and many of them were weakened from the plague. There seemed to be no coordination or organization between groups and Shepard and her squad fought them off with little effort. Aside from the skirmishes with the Blue Suns, they saw no other living people. Garrus knew what a busy district Gozu had been before the plague and he found the lack of activity profoundly disturbing.

They entered one of the residential sections and found that the Blue Suns had sealed many of the dwellings shut with electronic locks. Shepard hacked a few of them with her omni-tool, looking for survivors who my have been trapped inside. All they found were dead bodies. Some had clearly died from the plague, but others had died from starvation. The number of fatalities was overwhelming. If this virus really had been released purposefully.. The monstrousness of that idea still ranked pretty highly amongst all the other terrible things he'd seen, which was saying something.

They continued to see piles of burning bodies, the smoke was particularly thick here in the residential area where most of the deaths would have occurred. The tickle in Garrus' throat was getting worse and he was beginning to feel a little dizzy, the local oxygen levels possibly depleted by the fires.

Garrus stopped and extended a hand so he could lean against a wall briefly, trying to catch his breath after the exertion of their last skirmish with the Blue Suns. He turned to Shepard and asked, "Is it hot in here or is it just.." He was suddenly overcome with a coughing fit. Small flecks of blue blood spattered on the inside of his visor.

"Oh. That's not good."

"Garrus.." Shepard moved towards him, her concern written all over her face.

Garrus straightened up and waved Shepard off. "I'm fine." If this was the plague, it was too late to do anything about it now, and they both knew that. He'd have to hope this Mordin Solus had finished working on a cure.

The next house they unsealed had the first live people they'd encountered who weren't trying to kill them inside. A human couple said they had locked themselves in because they were hiding from the gangs. The roving gangs of vorcha and Blue Suns who, when they weren't busy killing each other, were dragging out and killing any human scapegoats they could find. Shepard managed to convince them to head to Mordin's clinic to wait out the quarantine with her usual brand of persuasion that was a mixture of cajoling and threats.

In the next house, they came across a pair of humans looting the dead turian occupants. This time there was no cajoling from Shepard, only threats. She sent them scurrying from the apartment after they told her that Mordin's clinic was nearby, and forced them to leave their ill-gotten goods behind.

Miranda looked at her quizzically, "Were you really going to shoot them?"

Shepard holstered her pistol, "No. But maybe they'll think twice before looting any other apartments. Stealing from the dead is despicable."

Garrus chuckled, "Well, I was convinced. If I were them, I'd run all the way home and hide under the bed until I forgot the look in your eye."

Outside the apartments was an abandoned dining court, all the tables and chairs still set up between the the restaurants. They crept through the area carefully, hearing the telltale sounds of a battle nearby. Around the corner from was a cluster of merchant booths surrounding a plaza. The Blue Suns were in a fierce firefight with vorcha members of the Blood Pack gang. Both groups were oblivious to the presence of Shepard's group. Shepard put a finger to her lips and indicated they should sneak around the combatants. Let them fight it out amongst themselves.

Once they had moved past Miranda remarked, "Looks like we're in vorcha territory now."

"The Blue Suns used to control this whole district," Garrus said. "They've lost a lot of ground. I wonder how much longer they can hold out?"

"Doesn't matter," Shepard said. "We're here for Mordin, not to get sucked into a gang war." Shepard nodded towards a door being guarded by a human with a pair battle mechs. "I think that's the clinic."

As they approached the door the human gave them a hard look, but made no move to disarm them. She warned, "No funny business once you're in the clinic, unless you want to deal with those mechs."

Shepard nodded her assent, and the guard opened the door to let them pass.

The clinic was clean and organized but hectic and clearly understaffed. The space was cramped, every available space was filled with medical equipment. In the corners on benches or even curled up on the floor were the patients too sick to stand. Medical personnel, all human, scurried around the room, tending to patients while LOKI mechs stood as silent sentinels amidst the barely controlled chaos. Shepard had to elbow her way past a crowd of patients waiting to be seen to get the attention of the pair of humans manning the reception desk.

One of the humans glanced up from his tasks and saw Shepard pushing through the crowd. He said impatiently, "Mordin is around here somewhere, go talk to him. We can use all the help we can get." He waved a hand to indicate they should proceed to the back of the clinic. Guess he assumed since Shepard and Miranda were human that they were here to volunteer. Shepard didn't bother correcting his assumption.

They squeezed carefully through the press of patients and staff, trying not to disturb anything as they went. Garrus stumbled as he went, his steps less coordinated than he liked. He wavered on his feet, his dizziness having worsened in the last hour. As they neared the back room he could hear voices.

"Professor," a human voice said, "We're running low on cipoxidin."

"Use malanarin. Plenty on hand. Almost as good. Causes cramping in Batarians, supplement with butemerol." The replying voice was from a salarian, an exceptionally quick-speaking one. The words practically ran each other over in a rapid staccato style.

"Malanarin and butemerol. Got it."

"Cenozine is the catalyst. Bonds to genetic markers. Hard to find. Expensive to mass produce. Why not heplacore? Too unstable. Inconsistent results. Demozane better option. No. Demozane toxic to humans. Not an option. Not an option."

Garrus followed Shepard into the room, which appeared to be a small operating theater. The salarian was bent over a patient on a gurney in front of him, his hands a blur of motion as he administered medical care. He was an older man for a salarian, Garrus thought he looked to be about thirty. He had some very interesting scars— there was a large, long-healed slice above one eye and a cross-shaped scar on the cheek below it. Half of the cranial horn on the opposite side of his head was missing, leaving a short, rounded stump next to the remaining intact horn. However the speed of his movements and the keen intelligence glimpsed in his large, black eyes revealed that age hadn't taken a toll on his abilities.

Shepard asked, "Professor Mordin Solus?"

The salarian glanced up at them and didn't even pause before pivoting and quickly approaching. He completely bypassed Shepard however and made a beeline for Garrus. Garrus retreated a step reflexively, taken aback by the abrupt motion. His dizziness caused him to overbalance and he stumbled. Shepard grabbed his elbow to steady him. The salarian only raised his omni-tool to scan him and Garrus eased his defensive posture a little.

Mordin started rambling, clearly talking to himself, "Turian physiology. Resilient with simple immuno-booster." He reached out and grasped Garrus firmly before he could react and administered the drug. The world ceased its gentle spin, his breathing eased and Garrus felt strength wash through his body as the immuno-booster took effect.

Mordin continued speaking, barely pausing to breathe as he turned to speak to Shepard, "Should be fine now. Now to greetings. Human. Curious. Don't recognize you from area." He tapped one long, slender finger briefly on his chin, blinking his eyes rapidly. "Too well-armed to be refugees. No mercenary uniform. Quarantine still in effect."

Mordin turned his back on Shepard and began working again, without breaking his verbal train of thought. "Here for something else? Vorcha? Crew to clean them out? Unlikely. Vorcha a symptom, not a cause. The plague? Investigating possible use as bio-weapon? No. Too many guns, not enough data equipment. Soldiers, not scientists. Yes, yes. Hired guns maybe? Looking for someone?" Mordin's voice began to rise, "Yes! But who? Someone important? Valuable. Someone with secrets." Mordin turned again and looked at Shepard with narrowed eyes as he appeared to come to some conclusion. "Someone like me."

Shepard chuckled. "Relax, Mordin. I'm Commander Shepard, and I came here to find you. I'm on a critical mission and I need your help."

Mordin did not relax, he instead became even more agitated as he asked, "Mission? What mission? No." He turned away from Shepard and went back to his work at a frenetic pace. "Too busy. Clinic understaffed. Plague spreading too fast. Who sent you?"

Shepard tried to hedge. "It's a covert and privately funded human group."

Mordin replied, "Related to plague? Doesn't affect humans. Human-centric interest. Few human groups would know me. Equipment suggests military origin. Not Alliance standard. Spectres not human. Terra Firma too unstable. Only one option." Mordin looked up from his work and pronounced with certainty, "Cerberus sent you. Unexpected."

Shepard was obviously impressed. "You're very well informed. How did a salarian scientist hear about Cerberus?"

"Crossed paths on occasion. Thought they only worked with humans." Mordin glanced at Garrus. "Turian involvement surprising. Racial tension with humans. Unlikely to help a human-centric organization."

"This mission is far beyond mere human interests, Professor," Garrus said. "We all have to work together to take down the Collectors."

Mordin's interest was clearly piqued. "Collectors. Interesting. Plague hitting these slums is engineered. Collectors one of the few groups with technology to design it. Our goals may be similar."

Shepard nodded and opened her mouth to speak but Mordin ran right over her. "But must stop plague first. Already have a cure. Need to distribute it at environmental control center. Vorcha guarding it. Need to kill them."

Shepard sighed and smiled wryly at Garrus. "Just once I'd like to ask someone for help and hear them say, 'Sure! Let's go. Right now. No strings attached.'"

Mordin grinned at Shepard. "Life is a negotiation. We all want. We all give to get what we want."

Shepard chuckled in resignation. "Fine. I'll get in and deal with the vorcha. What can you tell me about this plague?"

"Advanced design. Suspected Collectors before you mentioned them. Purpose seems experimental. Destroys respiratory system with harmful genetic mutations. Makes sense to avoid humans. Unnecessary to force mutations on human genetic structure for sake of variance."

"Unnecessary mutations? What are you talking about?"

"Possible goal of virus. Testing viable mutation levels in various species. Horrific, but feasible for Collectors. Humans known to have diverse genetic background. Wider range than other sapient races. Make sense as control group.

"So what about the vorcha?"

Mordin sniffed with disdain. "Cowardly, opportunistic scavengers. Not tactical or aggressive. Scale of attack unusual for them. Suspect vorcha working for the Collectors. Distributing plague, collecting data. No proof. But theory fits evidence. "

"Any trouble at the clinic?

Mordin waved dismissively, "Nothing major. Blue Suns came for humans. Made threats. Killed them before things escalated."

Shepard folded her arms. "For a doctor you're awfully calm about taking out a group of mercs."

"Wasn't always a doctor. Some work with Salarian Special Tasks Group. Can handle myself." Mordin took out the gun he had holstered on his hip and turned it over, inspecting it as he spoke. "Advantage of being salarian. Turians, krogan, vorcha all obvious threats." He looked up with a wicked grin. "Never see me coming."

As he finished speaking the lights in the clinic dimmed. The overhead vents ceased humming as the fans within slowly ground to a halt. The hazard lights came on bathing everything in an eerie red glow.

Miranda asked, "What the hell was that?"

Garrus shook his head, "That wasn't a good noise."

Mordin grew agitated. "Vorcha have shut down environmental systems. Trying to kill everyone. Need to get power back on before district suffocates." He pressed something into Shepard's hands. "Here, take plague cure."

Shepard turned to Garrus and Miranda. "Let's head for the environmental plant."

Their path to the environmental control center was blocked several times by vorcha mercenaries and their Krogan Blood Pack allies. Each time they were forced to stop and fight off another group of mercenaries was costly. Every moment brought them closer to the end of the oxygen supply for the entire district. Garrus couldn't figure out what the vorcha's plan was. Introducing a plague they were immune to was one thing, but they were just as vulnerable to oxygen deprivation as anyone else. None of them seemed to be wearing environmental suits either.

They finally fought their way through to a huge industrial building. Garrus could see that the massive pipes snaking throughout the district making up the ventilation system all terminated at this building. Outside the doors were a number of makeshift barriers manned by the largest group of Blood Pack mercenaries they'd seen yet. He turned to Shepard with a wry smile, "I think we're close."

The vorcha spotted them and they were forced to duck behind the dumpsters outside the nearby restaurants to avoid the hail of bullets they sent their way. The smell of garbage that had been left uncollected for over a week since the plague began was pungent and unpleasant.

Shepard grimaced, "Very astute observation, Mister Vakarian."

The mercenaries were pretty well dug in behind their barricades. Garrus and Shepard took a few shots at them, but their position behind the dumpster was too restricted, the sight lines were poor. They waited for a break in the gunfire, then Shepard motioned for Garrus to climb to the roof to gain a better vantage point. Shepard and Miranda popped out of cover and sprayed the barricades with their submachine guns while Garrus changed position. A few bullets whistled past him as he climbed and he hoped his kinetic shields would hold. He laid himself flat on the roof and set up his sniper rifle. He had enough height now to target the vorcha manning the forward barricades, but there was one group who'd set up at the top of the steps leading into the plant that his rooftop wasn't high enough to target. He relayed this down to Shepard as he lined up his first shot. Shepard leaned over to talk to Miranda crouched behind the dumpster. He couldn't hear what they were saying, but he could tell from the way Miranda was shaking her head that the other woman disapproved of the plan.

Shepard craned her head to address Garrus. "Give me a distraction."

"What kind of distract.." She stood up, completely exposed to enemy gunfire. Garrus cursed and hurriedly hit the macro programmed into his omni-tool to activate his program to overload enemy shields. These vorcha weren't shielded, but in a pinch, it could also overheat their weapons and force them to swap thermal clips prematurely. This was enough for Shepard, apparently, and he had a sinking feeling as he watched her glow brightly before charging straight into the enemy formation. She phased biotically through the barricades and crashed into the rearmost group of vorcha, most of whom were knocked to the floor by the force. All the other groups broke off their attack on Miranda's position and turned to face the enemy who'd broken through their lines. Shepard ducked behind the rear barricade as the forward vorcha fired on her. They ended up shooting the few vorcha who had remained on their feet behind her. There was a shuddering burst of biotic power and the barricade Shepard had ducked behind rocketed outward, leaving her exposed to the fire of the forward groups, her back vulnerable to the vorcha behind her. Without the barricade in the way, Garrus started shooting as many of the vorcha behind her as he could, taking far less care to aim his shots than usual. His sloppiness meant most of his shots only wounded them, but at this point all he could hope to do was keep them off balance long enough for Shepard to charge out again.

Except she didn't. She just drew her pistol and started advancing towards the vorcha in the forward positions. Her barriers flashed and sparked as they absorbed the bullets being fired at her. There were too many vorcha left and he knew her barriers would die soon. At that moment, Miranda popped up from her hiding spot and lobbed a warp field into the middle of the space behind Shepard. Garrus saw Shepard turn and wind her arm back.

 _No, even Shepard couldn't possibly be crazy enough for this._

Shepard threw a shockwave at the warp field just as her biotic barriers sputtered and died. Garrus forgot to breathe as the shockwave thudded across the space before her. As her arm fell, she turned and charged back out of the enemy position just ahead of the biotic explosion that resulted when shockwave met warp field. She wasn't quite fast enough and the tail end of the explosion sent her sprawling. There was nothing but burning wreckage where the vorcha had been. The explosion had ignited the flamethrowers stashed in their fortifications, igniting every structure in the radius of the explosion.

Garrus dropped quickly from the roof and he and Miranda rushed to help Shepard sit up groggily. She grinned at them with her lunatic grin and put one hand to her ear.

"I'll take 'em all on!" Shepard declared, a little too loudly.

Miranda looked at Garrus, slightly dazed, and asked, "Was she like this before or is this new?"

"Well," Garrus said thoughtfully, gazing at the destruction around them, "This is actually kind of tame for Shepard."

Miranda muttered, "It's no wonder she ended up dead. That any of you stayed with her is unbelievable."

Garrus shrugged, "You get used to the suicidal orders after awhile."

Shepard yelled at them, "I heard that! I'm not completely deaf."

Garrus picked Shepard up and set her on her feet. She batted away his hands with a scowl and shook herself. They had to pick their way carefully through the flaming wreckage to mount the steps and enter the environmental plant. Miranda warned, "There's bound to be more resistance inside."

Shepard nodded and they all crept carefully into the building. It was was an oddly empty building, with large columns supporting the high ceilings and second story walkways. It was far larger and far more empty than it needed to be for it's function. It had probably been repurposed, the entire district could have been built for some other purpose when Omega was a mining station, and been converted into a residential area as the station population grew. Garrus couldn't immediately identify any equipment used to control the environmental functions.

Shepard looked around watchfully as they advanced. "We need to inject the cure, then get the fans working again."

Garrus said, "Right.. Complicated plan. What was the second part again?"

Shepard glared at him, "You're awful mouthy for someone who was coughing up blood not that long ago."

"Near-death experiences always improve my sense of humor."

As soon as they stepped into the open space, they heard a screeching vorcha voice from up on one of the elevated walkways.

"You no come here. We shut down machines, break fans. Everyone choke and die! Then Collectors make us strong." The vorcha raised a clenched fist as it railed at Shepard. Garrus couldn't tell if it were male or female, vorcha all looked the same to him.

Shepard shouted back, "What do the Collectors want?"

"Collectors want plague! You work for doctor, turn on machines, put cure in air. We kill you first!" The vorcha hefted their weapons and immediately opened fire on the group. Garrus pulled Shepard behind the nearest pillar. EDI chose that moment to speak over the comms. "Shepard, I have scanned the room. The central control system is in an alcove in the center of the back wall. You can inject the cure and re-initialize the system there."

"Copy that, EDI, but there are a lot of vorcha in the way right now."

The three fought their way through the group of vorcha in the large, open lobby and down the central hallway. Shepard's biotic abilities were highly effective when she had a long, enclosed space to use as a funnel for shockwaves. She was able to push the vorcha ahead of them until they ran out of corridor. Garrus and Miranda backed down the hallway after her, shooting anyone who tried to follow. The corridor opened up into what was obviously the central environmental control room. Huge machines with an impenetrable number of displays and controls dominated the back wall. Too concerned about damaging the delicate equipment to risk using her firearms, Shepard finished off the remaining vorcha with her biotically enhanced fists.

Shepard consulted EDI on the specifics of the machinery in front of her and finally found a port she could use to insert the cure. Once the cure had been injected into the system, EDI told them, "I have located the fan controls. There are two, one on either side of the room you are in now."

The first fan proved to be down a corridor similar to the central corridor and they had little trouble handling the group of vorcha who had been stationed to guard that one. Garrus activated the fan controls while Miranda and Shepard dealt with the vorcha.

"First fan is on. Let's hit the second one and then we can get the hell off of Omega." Garrus would not be sorry at all to leave the station behind. He'd seen enough of it's gritty corners for a lifetime.

The second fan proved to be more difficult. They had to pass back through the open lobby and head down some stairs to reach the lower corridor that lead to the second set of controls. The vorcha had taken up position along the upper walkway that formed the ceiling of the lower corridor and they would be completely exposed to their fire if they wanted to enter the stairwell. The vorcha had broken out the grenade launchers and were effectively keeping them pinned down in the doorway with them. Garrus was able to snipe a few of them between grenade volleys, but Shepard's pistols weren't effective at this range. She was able to phase through objects using her biotics but she still needed solid ground to run on. She wasn't going to be able to charge through the open air. Garrus and Miranda worked out a system where she overloaded a grenade launcher to give Garrus a few moments to snipe them, but it was taking too much time. They were starting to feel the effects of an hour without a properly working environmental system and one fan wasn't enough to get the job done.

Garrus leaned over to Shepard, panting faintly. "You go, we'll take care of the vorcha. Get that fan started."

During the next break in the fire, Shepard charged down the stairs. They could hear her breathing heavily over the comms, the sound of her fist hitting vorcha flesh, the short loud bark of her pistol being fired. Then overhead came the sound of the enormous machinery groaning to life again and the quiet, comforting whir of of the fans.

Garrus turned to Miranda and said, "There we go, everyone in the district will be inhaling the cure shortly."

The vorcha fighting them began howling with rage. Howls that were shortly silenced by a few shots from Garrus' gun. Shepard came limping up the stairs, tired but triumphant.

"Environmental systems engaged. Airborne viral levels dropping. Patients improving. Vorcha retreating. Well done, Shepard. Thank you."

Shepard was sitting on a gurney in the middle of Mordin's clinic, irritably allowing the salarian doctor to tend to her wounds. "We've cured the plague. Are you ready to help stop the Collectors?"

Mordin stepped back and inspected his work with a critical eye before nodding. "Yes. Unexpected to be working with Cerberus. Many surprises. Just need to finish up here. Won't take long. Meet you at your ship. Looking forward to it."

Mordin waved her off of the gurney and indicated one of the sick patients waiting outside should take her place. Garrus saw that one of the patients was the batarian they'd encountered when they'd first entered the district. Mordin's assistants had managed to get him back to the clinic after all.

They made their way back to the transport station. Already there were signs of life stirring in the district. People who'd been holed up in their homes and businesses were emerging into the streets to survey the damage. The guards Aria had hired to keep the district quarantined had abandoned their posts manning the barricade and were moving through the burning piles in the streets purposefully. Whether they were there to help restore the district to order or to attempt to take and hold the territory for Aria now that the gang war had depopulated the previous tenants wasn't clear. Garrus had already gotten half a plan to try and halt the new gang from moving in before he was able to halt that train of thought. His squad was gone. There would always be gangs in Omega. It chafed Garrus' sense of justice, but he knew he had no way to prevent a new gang from moving in to fill the power vacuum. All he could hope was that whoever took over would treat the people fairly.

When they stepped out of the transport station on the other end the guard there was gone. Jacob was still at his post awaiting their return.

"Did you find doctor Solus, Commander?"

Shepard jerked a thumb over her shoulder at the way they'd come. "He's wrapping up the work at his clinic. He'll join us shortly."

Jacob fell in with the three of them as they made their way back to their shuttle.

"What's he like?"

"He's.. interesting."

Garrus added, "Talks a lot."

Miranda said a little grudgingly, "He's clearly a brilliant doctor. And he knows something about the Collectors. He'll be useful to us."

"Good to hear."

They rounded a corner, nearing the shuttle port Joker had docked the kodiak at. As they did, they saw a grizzled older human kicking a batarian who was cringing on the floor. When the batarian saw Shepard and her companions come up behind the man, he called out to them, pleading.

"Please, you have to help me."

The man kicked him savagely. "No one said you could talk, jackass." The man had a huge scar arcing around one milky white, blind eye, but he studied Shepard with his undamaged brown eye. Shepard accessed a file on her omni-tool, then considered the man for a long moment.

"You Zaeed Massani?"

"Yeah that's me. You must be Commander Shepard. I hear we have a galaxy to save."

Shepard nodded. "I assume you've been briefed?"

Zaeed shrugged. "I've done my homework. Cerberus sent me everything I needed to know."

Shepard glanced at the batarian still crouched on the floor. "My contacts told me we were picking up one man, not two."

Zaeed snorted dismissively. "Batarian delinquent. Pissed off someone rich enough to hire me to go after him. And for my 'Bring him in alive rates' even."

The batarian made another attempt to plead with Shepard. "Please, I didn't do it."

Zaeed kicked him in the face and he fell silent again.

"I said shut it! Tried to lead me on a chase all over the systems." Zaeed unholstered his weapon and cycled the thermal clip menacingly. "He should have known better. These people always run to Omega."

"What's going to happen to him?"Shepard asked carefully.

"I'm going to turn him in for the bounty. Don't much care what happens after that."

Shepard's lips twitched and curled down slightly. She asked, "What's your relationship with Cerberus?"

"Easy. Cerberus is paying me a lot of money to help you on your mission. That's the long and short."

"Most mercs wouldn't take a suicide mission for the pay."

"Most mercs don't get an offer like the one Cerberus sent me. This mission doesn't sound like good business but your Illusive Man can move a lot of credits."

Shepard offered Zaeed a hand to shake, but when she spoke it sounded like she was grinding her teeth, "Good to have you, Zaeed. We have a lot to do."

"That's what they tell me. I assume the Illusive Man told you about our arrangement?"

"No," Shepard replied, the irritation and sarcasm in her voice unmistakable. "I guess he decided to leave that information out of the dossier."

Zaeed shook his head. "Good thing I asked. Picked up a mission a little while back just before I signed on with Cerberus. Thought you might be interested. You heard the name Vido Santiago?"

Garrus perked up at the name. To Shepard he said, "He's the head of the Blue Suns, runs the whole organization."

Zaeed nodded. "Seems he recently captured a refinery on Zoya and he's using their workers for slave labor. The company wants it dealt with."

Shepard promised, "I'll make sure we get that done."

"Good, get it out of the way so we can concentrate on being big goddamn heroes."

The batarian decided this was his chance to make a break for it. He leapt to his feet and attempted to run. He only made it a few steps before Zaeed shot him in the back. He collapsed to the floor.

Zaeed grunted. "Better turn this thing in before it starts to stink."

Shepard watched the man go, distaste on her face. Garrus sidled up to her and remarked. "Nice people Cerberus is recruiting on your behalf. Do we really have to take him with us?"

Shepard was grim, "I've seen what happens to the colonies. I may not like it, but if I'm willing to accept Cerberus' help, Zaeed's crimes are petty in comparison. I'll take all the help I can get."

They waited in the shuttle port until Zaeed returned from dropping off the dead batarian for the bounty. A short while later, Mordin arrived and they all boarded the shuttle. With Mordin and Zaeed on board it was considerably more crowded than on the trip down. Shepard was clustered with Mordin and the two Cerberus operatives in the bow so they could brief the salarian doctor.

Jacob told Mordin, "The Collectors are abducting humans out in the fringes of Terminus space."

Mordin replied, "Not simple abductions, wouldn't need me for simple."

That left Garrus and Zaeed together, each eying the other with mutual, professional suspicion.

Zaeed finally asked Garrus, "Got a problem?"

Garrus replied, "So.. Going after the Blue Suns, it's just another job?"

Zaeed spit, "Not going after all of 'em. Just Vido. Don't much care about the workers if I'm bein' honest."

Jacob continued on the other end of the shuttle, "Entire colonies disappear without a trace. No distress signals are sent out. There's no sign of any kind of attack. There is virtually no evidence that anything unusual happened at all.. Except every man, woman and child is gone.

Mordin mused, "Gas maybe? No. Spreads too slow.."

Garrus told Zaeed, "Well I'm more than happy to help. They just tried to kill me."

Zaeed grunted, "You got good taste in enemies."

"..Airborne virus? No, slower than gas.."

Shepard finally interrupted the doctor's monologue. "You don't have to sit there and guess. We collected samples from one of the colonies."

Garrus asked, "What happened to your eye?"

"Someone shot me in the head," Zaeed answered shortly. "What happened to your face?"

"Rocket launcher. Tarok wasn't my biggest fan."

Shepard was still talking to Mordin, "I'd like you to analyze them and figure out how the Collectors did this."

Mordin nodded, "Yes, of course. Analyze the samples."

Zaeed laughed at that, "Tarok, that old bastard. How is he?"

"Dead."

"Shame."

"Yeah, I'm not broken up about it."

"Suppose he had it coming."

"Hey guys?" Joker interrupted. "Trying to fly the ship up here. Can we keep it down back there?"

Zaeed rolled his good eye. "Pilot's pretty touchy, in't he."

"Tell me about it."


	4. Gone Quiet

"Got a minute?"

Garrus pushed himself out from under the panel he was working on in engineering to see Shepard standing over him.

"Sure, just installing those upgrades to the weapons systems we talked about. You can never be too careful."

Garrus stood up and stretched, joking, "I thought I had seen every weapon in the galaxy during our fight against Saren. Mercenary work showed me otherwise. Now Cerberus rebuilds the Normandy with a few upgrades to boot. I wish we'd joined up with them sooner."

"We haven't joined Cerberus. They're funding our mission. That's all," Shepard replied stiffly, looking pointedly at Engineers Donelly and Daniels who were working with him on the weapons.

Garrus raised his hands defensively and said soothingly, "Relax, Shepard. Just a figure of speech."

Shepard jerked her head towards the inner engine room, indicating she wanted to speak to him privately. Garrus followed her into the massive chamber that housed the drive core. It stretched up nearly the entire height of the ship in order to accommodate the huge new drive core. Garrus had been impressed with the original Normandy's experimental Tantalus drive core, which had been nearly twice the size of any drive core previously designed, but the Cerberus model made that one look like a toy. If there was any one thing that convinced Garrus that Cerberus had the resources to handle a threat as large as the Collectors, it was this engine. Sure, bringing Shepard back to life had to have been a massively expensive endeavor but just looking at her, there was no real way to tell how much. He knew how much time and money the joint Alliance-Hierarchy project had invested making the older, smaller drive core. Putting together a new engine, using entirely new technology, that performed even more efficiently to operate the considerably larger new version of the Normandy in less than two years? That was a technological feat that beggared the imagination.

Shepard leaned against the control panel in the room and looked up at the engine tensely. Garrus could see from the displays that the stealth system had been engaged and the engine was operating at top speed.

"I take it we're on our way somewhere dangerous in a hurry."

Shepard nodded. "The Illusive Man sent word that one of our human colonies in the Terminus Systems just went dark. No communications are going in or out. He thinks it's a sign that the Collectors are either there already or will be shortly. We're on our way now, hopefully we'll be in time to do something about it."

"I suppose saying, 'Finally!' is heartless, but I was getting restless out here, waiting for them to make a move."

Shepard smiled grimly. "I'm sure the colonists would rather _not_ be attacked by the Collectors, but you're right. Without a way to get through the Omega-4 relay and engage them directly, waiting around for them to come to us was our only play." She drummed her fingers rapidly on the console. "I _hate_ waiting."

"So what's bothering you?"

Shepard shifted restlessly. "The Illusive Man said Ashley is stationed there."

"Chief Williams? I haven't kept track of her but I thought she was still with the Alliance?"

Shepard nodded. "She is. The Illusive Man said she was part of some outreach program to improve relations between the colonies and the Alliance. But I asked Anderson about her—about all of you—when I first woke up." She clenched her jaw briefly "He wouldn't tell me anything. Said it was classified."

Shepard folded her arms and tapped one of her stubby human fingers against her forearm. "Something is going on here. An outreach program wouldn't be classified. And Ash is far too skilled a soldier to be sent to push papers and hold the hands of some colonists."

Garrus snorted. "Can you imagine Ashley holding _anyone's_ hands? She's not exactly the diplomatic type."

"That is part of what bothers me."

"So what do you think is going on?"

Shepard shook her head in frustration. "I don't know. But I don't like it. It seems far too convenient that the first Collector attack we've gotten prior notice of just happens to be where one of _my_ former crew is currently stationed.

"Do you think she's been targeted?"

"The Illusive Man knows more than he's saying. He says I shouldn't be surprised that the Collectors would be interested in me if they're involved with the Reapers as we believe they are." She looked at Garrus, the expression on her face serious. "Someone is playing a game here. I just can't tell which side."

Garrus laid a hand on her shoulder. "We can't worry about that. But we _can_ get some big guns and go shoot something."

Shepard laughed and touched the hand on her shoulder. "You know just what to say to cheer a girl up, Garrus."

The Normandy dropped into the Iera system from the mass relay's transit corridor with the stealth drive engaged and the fingers of every crew member crossed. They knew their stealth system would keep them undetectable to any scanning technology they knew about, but the Collectors were an enigma. No one knew what technologies they had at their disposal. Also the stealth drive was useless against the low-tech tactic of simply looking out the window. Most ships relied on their scanners though, so the drive was highly effective under most circumstances. Joker plotted an evasive trajectory through the system, attempting to keep their approach as circumspect as possible. They could detect where the Collector ship was in orbit around the planet and they circled around to the far side of the planet before launching Shepard and her team in the kodiak.

They landed near the outskirts of the colony, behind a large, rocky hill in the hopes of keeping their landing site concealed from any troops in the colony. Shepard didn't even allow the shuttle to land on the surface of Horizon before she jumped out, Garrus and Miranda close behind her. She waved the shuttle off, indicating it should return to the Normandy. They couldn't risk the shuttle being captured or shot down, leaving them stranded on the planet with the Collectors. Behind them in the distance Garrus could see the massive Collector ship. Garrus couldn't understand how a ship that large had been able to land on a planet in the first place. It had a central ring structure with a long straight segment bisecting it, one end partly buried in the earth, the other stretching vertically into the sky. It was several orders of magnitude taller than any of the buildings in the colony. A strange organic substance covered parts of it, almost like molten rock had flowed over its surface and hardened. An eerie storm cloud swirled around the top of the ship, Garrus couldn't tell if it was natural or if the ship was somehow causing it. Perhaps the storm was how the Collectors were disrupting communications? The clouds cast a pall over the colony, and served to enhance the effect of the occasional lightning bolt that arced across the sky.

They grouped into a defensive formation, Shepard taking point. They rounded the hill and marched towards the colony proper. The colony had been built into an area with very rocky, uneven terrain. The ground rose and fell in a series of hillocks and gullies, generally moving downhill into a more protected valley. The local fauna closely resembled some earth species of deciduous trees and the grass was a golden yellow. The air was filled with the drone of insects. Garrus saw there were a number of large insects the size of his fist flying lazily through the air around them. The data Cerberus had gathered from the other colony attacks had revealed the Collectors' biological weapons were some sort of paralytic insect Mordin had dubbed seeker swarms. They weren't actually biological in nature, though. Instead they were devices engineered to _look_ like insects. Garrus thought they were creepy no matter what they were and the sound made him instinctively hunch his shoulders slightly.

Shepard activated her comms and reported in, "We're groundside. Mordin, are you sure those upgrades will protect us from the seeker swarms?"

Mordin's voice crackled over their headsets. "Certainty impossible. But in limited numbers, should confuse detection, make us invisible to swarms." He paused a beat. "In theory. "

Garrus marked that pause with some alarm. Any slight hesitation in Mordin's rapid fire pace was worth worrying over, and worry usually made him resort to sarcasm. "In theory? That sounds promising."

"Experimental technology. Only test is contact with seeker swarms. Looking forward to seeing if you survive!" The doctor was positively cheerful at the prospect of testing the results of his theory. Garrus was a lot less enthusiastic about any test where his death was a possible outcome.

The Collector insects seemed to be flying aimlessly, completely disinterested in Shepard and her party. Whatever Mordin had done seemed to be working. They continued moving through the outskirts of the colony, watchful for any sign of colonist or Collector. The colony had been built out of a number of modular, pre-fabricated units, all grey metal with red stripes along the tops. Buildings were essentially just stacks of pre-fabbed pods arranged next to each other or stacked up and welded together. Settlements like this could be thrown together in a matter of days, but the result was a settlement devoid of any personality that felt temporary at best. To someone like Shepard who'd spent her life on one starship after another, with brief stints on space stations, these sorts of living arrangements probably seemed pretty luxurious with so much open space. Garrus had spent plenty of time on starships and space stations, but his formative years had been spent on his species' planet of origin, Palaven. And except for being a station in space, the Citadel barely qualified as one. It had it's own, complex ecosystem. The presidium had vast lakes, flowering trees and other types of greenery everywhere. The wards were more industrial but so large and urban, they felt like an endless city more than a space station.

Garrus saw that there were large anti-aircraft guns positioned at strategic intervals along the tops of the ridges throughout the colony. The guns looked newer than the rest of the buildings and some of them were still in the process of being installed. All of them were silent and showed no signs of having been fired. Whatever the Collectors had done to the communications tower shouldn't have knocked out all of the guns as well, assuming they'd even been functional before the Collectors arrived.

They hadn't gone far before they made contact with the enemy. There was a large group of aliens the likes of which Garrus had never seen before standing in the space between the next cluster of structures. They had four eyes like the batarians and were bipedal, but that was where the resemblance ended. Their large heads had a wedge-like shape, flat in front with almost no discernible facial features, and tapered to a distinct occipital point. In addition to the two arms they were using to hold weapons, they had two smaller, apparently vestigial limbs.

So these were the Collectors. They chirped and chittered creepily among themselves as they stood waiting for.. what? Shepard had said there had been no signs of resistance at any of the other vanished colonies and that appeared to be the case here as well. Garrus heard no gunfire, saw no one fighting. He saw no humans in this part of the colony at all, and yet here they were, standing guard?

Garrus turned to Shepard and asked quietly, "Get the feeling they're expecting us?"

Shepard nodded. "Let's not disappoint them."

Garrus got into position behind a crate and lined up a shot on one of the bigger specimens. He waited until Shepard gave the signal, then fired. The Collector dropped to the ground and the rest of the soldiers turned to his position with an angry buzz. They killed a few of them before the Collectors in the rear turned their weapons on them. Thin beams of light arced out of the barrels of their guns and cut through the air. They sliced through Garrus' shield and singed one shoulder of his armor before he ducked back behind his cover. The acrid smell of burning metal filled the air as the beams hit the wall of the building behind them. Particle beams? The amount of energy required to create a concentrated beam was so high that a hand-held weapon was impossible to build. Or so he'd thought. The beams had them pinned behind their cover, no breaks to reload overheated thermal clips to help them. Based on how quickly they had destroyed his shielding, taking a hit while he tried to fire was too risky. He could see the faint glow of biotic barriers around these soldiers and cursed.

Shepard holstered her pistol and cracked her knuckles. "Guess I'm up. Miranda, warp their barriers when I break through their fire."

Miranda muttered under her breath, "Oh here we go."

Shepard phased through the metal crates of their cover and charged one of the Collectors wielding the beams. She was far too fast for them to target before she collided with one, knocking it off its feet. The others turned, but she leapt aside as they swept their beams towards her. A well-placed shockwave blew the rest of them back and kept them off balance enough that they couldn't target her. Shepard darted between soldiers, using her biotics to keep moving. She wasn't doing much damage, but she was able to keep them occupied while Miranda and Garrus worked in tandem to bring them down, one at a time. Miranda would destroy the barriers of one for Garrus to to target with his rifle. The Collectors fought ferociously, but he'd seen even the notoriously stupid vorcha fight with more sophistication. They seemed to fight more as a swarm than a coordinated group.

After they'd dispatched the last of the Collectors there was a crackling boom in the sky. Garrus looked up at the clouds swirling darkly overhead. Thunder? Was it his imagination or was the storm getting worse? A bright flash of lightning lit up the sky for a few seconds and was followed almost immediately by another rolling boom of thunder. The storm was definitely getting closer.

Static crackled over their comms and they heard Joker's voice saying, "Comman… ..tting all kinds… ..ference. We can't mainta.." The static garbled his words as he faded in and out.

Miranda said, "The Collectors are blocking communications."

Shepard replied, "We're on our own now."

They continued along their path, moving towards the central cluster of buildings. They started to see more signs of human habitation—abandoned tools, a picnic table set with full glasses—but still no people. Instead there were more Collectors. This group wasn't standing around waiting to be attacked. There were armed soldiers acting as an escort for some workers. The workers were transporting large, oblong pods, pushing them along using anti-grav handtrucks. They didn't even look up when Shepard opened fire, they ignored her and continued steadily around some buildings and out of sight. The soldiers broke off their escort to return Shepard's fire.

Shepard yelled over the din, "Keep them busy, I'm going after those workers."

Garrus traded sniper rifle for assault rifle and laid down a volley of suppressive fire, dropping the nearest Collector to the ground and the rest into cover. The Collector on the ground was still alive and reached for Shepard as she ran past, but she dodged him and the fire from his fellows. She'd almost made it to the buildings where they'd last seen the workers when she was swarmed. Fast, dark humanoid shapes ran from the direction the workers had gone and jumped on Shepard, pummeling her with their fists. Garrus abandoned his position and ran, heedless of Miranda's shouts and of the Collector fire. His shields took a barrage of bullets but they held, barely, until he reached the writhing pile of bodies. Shepard was kicking her attackers wildly but there were too many crowding her, she wasn't able to get much force into each blow. Garrus wrenched one of the creatures off of her and felt a surge of revulsion as he looked into its skeletal face. It's eyes stared back at Garrus, dull and senseless, and glowing with an eerie blue light. Its entire body was twined with wires that all emitted the same light. The smell was nauseating, all decomposing, burning flesh. Garrus thrust it away from him reflexively and kicked its knees. As it fell to the ground, he stomped its head with his boots and the skull exploded with a wet gush. He turned back to Shepard and clawed at another body, trying to swallow the rising horror. Shepard had managed to wrench herself out of the press of bodies and roll to her feet. She shuffled towards him and they put their backs together as they used their fists. Shepard knocked the last one to the ground and shot it, point blank, with her pistol. They both swayed on their feet, shaky from fatigue and adrenaline. Garrus looked around to find the rest of the Collector soldiers were already dead. Garrus nodded at Miranda when she joined them.

"Impressive, Lawson."

Miranda's lips barely twitched into a begrudging smile, but since it was the friendliest Miranda had managed to be with him up until then, Garrus would take it. Maybe he was wearing her down.

Shepard nudged the remains of one creature with her booted foot. "Those things look like the husks the geth used on Eden Prime," she said.

Garrus frowned and asked, "I thought the geth got that technology from Sovereign?

"The Illusive Man was correct. The Collectors are agents of the Reapers," Miranda said grimly.

Shepard knelt to get a closer look at the husks, she gestured at the complicated wiring inside their bodies. "These are more advanced than they were on Eden Prime though. Evolved."

Garrus growled, "They still die if you shoot them." He felt sick as he looked at the bodies. "These things used to be human," he said. "This is what's left of the colonists?" The Horizon colony had been home to _hundreds_ of people.

Miranda shook her head and said, "No, on Eden Prime victims were turned into husks by impaling them on spikes. We haven't seen any. The Collectors must have brought the husks. They're taking the colonists for something else."

Shepard replied, "The Collectors might be experimenting on the colonists. What are they up to?"

Garrus wasn't sure which was more horrifying, the idea that there were hundreds of people who'd been turned into husks, or that the Collectors had something potentially even worse in store for them. "Maybe it's better not to know the details."

Miranda replied, "The only way to find out is to stop them."

Shepard got to her feet and squared her shoulders. "The Collectors aren't getting away with more victims. Let's move out."

They went in the direction they'd seen the last group of Collector depart. They didn't see the group Shepard had attempted to follow, but they did find more of the pods they'd been moving. There were rows and rows of them, some leaning vertically against the buildings, others side by side on the ground. They were oblong, maybe two meters long, a meter wide and deep. They were mostly a dark, opaque material except for a rounded, translucent red window at one end. A few of the pods laying on the ground were open, revealing an empty chamber inside them. They bore a resemblance to hypersleep compartments, only far more gruesome.

A methodical search of all the buildings in the immediate vicinity turned up nothing. They passed through silent kitchens, some with food still on the tables. They found unmade beds and dirty laundry and all the other signs of an inhabited colony. Except for the inhabitants.

After the fifth empty structure Garrus turned to Miranda and said, "All these empty buildings.. It's unsettling."

Miranda nodded in agreement. "Just like Freedom's Progress. The entire colony.. gone."

Shepard leafed through one of the open books on the low table next to the sofa. "Everything is exactly where they left it. No signs of a struggle. The seeker swarms must be very effective."

The next building they searched appeared to be a warehouse, it was crowded with rows of storage crates. As Garrus turned to squeeze through the narrow spaces between crates he was suddenly face to face with a human. He almost shouted in surprise as he reflexively brought his weapon to bear. The man didn't move, he didn't twitch a muscle or bat an eye, no movement at all. The man was half crouched behind a wall of crates, his body turned slightly to try and peer around the crate. It wasn't a position his muscles should have been able to sustain for long without moving, but he was completely frozen.

"Shepard, found something."

The women broke off from their search to look at the colonist. Garrus picked up the thermos of coffee on the crate next to him. It was still warm. The sight of it was so absurd, Garrus felt an inappropriate laugh start to bubble up in his chest and had to suppress it. The empty colony had been bad, but this was so much worse.

Miranda had her omni-tool out and was scanning the man as Shepard tried and failed to move his limbs. Her voice was detached and clinical as she described the readings. "Seems to be some kind of stasis field. It keeps you conscious, but completely helpless."

Shepard abandoned her attempts to move the man and moved away regretfully. "They've been like this for awhile. Best we can do now is drive off the Collectors and hope Mordin can help them later."

The man in the warehouse was only the first immobilized colonist they found. As they continued through the colony they began finding more and more. One colonist was fleeing down a staircase from the upper level of housing units, there was a woman laying on the ground with a man bending over to help her up. The fear on their faces was clear. The knot of sickness and horror in Garrus' gut tightened with every frozen human they passed. He tried to focus on the fact that them being there meant the Collectors hadn't taken them yet, that each human they passed was someone they could possibly save. It helped, but not much.

Where they found small groups of Collectors they eliminated them. Garrus thought it was odd that there were so many small, scattered groups continuing to work while others fought them. He kept expecting a concerted attack but it never came. They'd moved into a more densely built up section of the colony, these structures had an air of permanence that the residential section had lacked. The buildings were more industrial in nature, and Garrus guessed this had been the first area constructed. One huge building was even partially dug into the ground. More curiously, the door indicator glowed the steady red that meant it was locked—the first locked door they'd encountered in the colony. He and Miranda took up positions on either side of the door, their weapons ready, as Shepard bypassed the lock with her omni-tool.

Inside they found a room packed with power generators. As they came down the ramp from the doorway they heard a scuffle from inside the generator array. Shepard put up one hand and halted.

"Company,"Shepard said quietly.

They moved silently towards the source of the sound and Garrus thought he saw a flash of movement between two of the generators, whatever it was moving deeper into the shadows.

"Get out here. Now!"

A scared human male crept out in response to Shepard's command. They quickly holstered their weapons to show they weren't hostile. The man stared at them for a moment, his mouth agape. "You're human!" His relief was quickly replaced with agitation. "What are you doing out here, you'll lead them right here!" he hissed at them.

Shepard frowned at him, "They already know you're in here, you had to hear them trying to get in. Seems it's hard to hide from the Collectors."

The man started to pace back and forth. "Those things are Collectors? You mean.. They're real? I thought they were just made up. You know—propaganda. To keep us in Alliance space. No! They got Lilith. I saw her go down. Sten too. They got damn near everybody."

"Calm down, take it easy," Shepard said soothingly. "Who are you? What do you do here?"

The man took a few deep breaths before he answered, "Name's Delan. Mechanic. I came down to check on the main grid after we lost our comm signal. Then I heard screaming. I looked outside and there was.. Swarms of bugs. Everyone they touched just froze. I sealed the doors. Damn it—it's the Alliance's fault! They built those defense towers. It made us a target!"

"The Collectors are targeting remote colonies. I'm sure the Alliance was trying to help," Shepard replied.

Delan scowled. "I don't want their help. Too many strings attached. That rep said she was just here to get the towers online, but mark my words, there's more to it.

Shepard ignored the man's suspicion and continued her questioning. "Tell me more about this Alliance rep."

"Chief Williams? Heard she was some kind of hero or something. Didn't mean nothing to me, though. Would've rather she just stayed back in Council Space."

Garrus saw Shepard tense slightly at the mention of Ashely's name, but she gave no other sign of it's significance. She only said, "Any idea what she was doing on Horizon?"

"Supposed to be helping us get the defense towers up and running." Delan shrugged. "I got the feeling she was here for something else. Spying on us, maybe."

Garrus and Shepard exchanged a quick glance. Seemed they weren't the only ones suspicious about Ashely's presence here.

Garrus said to Delan, "If you have defenses we can use them against the Collector ship."

"You'd need to calibrate the targeting system first. It's never worked right.." Delan started to get agitated again as he gestured at the array of generators. "We had to build this huge underground generator to power the things but the Alliance sent us a gun that can't shoot straight."

Miranda said impatiently, "Just tell us where to find the targeting system. We can figure it out."

"Head for the main transmitter on the other side of the colony. Pretty hard to miss. The targeting controls are at the base."

Shepard gestured for Garrus and Miranda to start heading in the direction Delan had indicated, then she turned back to the man and said, "It's probably just better if you stay out of the way."

Delan folded his arms. "Yeah that's what I was thinking too. I'll let you out but I'm locking the door behind you."

Once they were outside and Delan had locked the doors behind them Garrus couldn't help rolling his eyes. "Nice guy. Real friendly."

"They're not overly fond of the Alliance in the Terminus Systems." Shepard stopped and worry creased her brow. "I haven't seen any sign of Ash. Do you think the Collectors took her already?"

"We'll find her, Shepard."

Shepard flashed him a quick smile. "Not if we don't get those defense towers online, fast." She turned to jog towards the main transmitter and he followed.

The buildings in this section of the colony were close together, the path they had to traverse was narrow and circuitous, sometimes the only way forward was to detour through the buildings themselves. Garrus kept expecting to see Collectors around every corner but they encountered no one.

Garrus remarked, "It's odd we haven't run into any more frozen colonists."

"The Collectors have already loaded them onto their ship," Miranda replied. "We're running out of time."

That thought made them all run a little faster.

The densely packed buildings abruptly lead into a more open area. The buildings were newer, and there were other signs of recent construction. Stacks of crates and metal canisters of fuel for welding torches were stacked in the spaces between buildings. In the very center of the large open area was the tall spire of the transmitter. It was clear from the abandoned equipment and open crates that the colonists had been in the midst of repairs when the Collectors attacked. They were picking their way carefully through the mess of construction when Garrus heard gunfire. Miranda shouted, "They're behind us!"

He looked up to see the largest force of Collectors yet come swarming out of the buildings. They couldn't have picked a better place for an ambush, there was very little cover in the open area around the transmitter. Garrus cursed himself for not considering the possibility that they may have left a force here to watch for anyone attempting to repair the transmitter, it was an obvious place. The Collectors had shown such poor tactical sense in previous battles, but they couldn't be as disorganized as they seemed given how efficiently they'd disabled all of the colonies they'd attacked.

One of the Collector drones paused in its advance and curled slightly in on itself as cracks of light spread across its body.

"I will direct this personally. Assuming direct control," a deep voice intoned as the Collector rose into the air and shook. There was a flash of light and it dropped to its feet once more. Aside from the glowing cracks there was no obvious physical difference, but it moved.. differently. Somehow there was more intention. The rhythm of the fight changed, the tactics of the fighters were suddenly more coherent.

"You cannot stop us, Shepard. We are the harbinger of your destiny."

The Collectors they'd encountered before had been silent. Garrus definitely did not appreciate the change.

They took cover in the crates along the outside edge of the open space, but the Collectors had the superior position on the second story of the buildings. Several groups of Collector drones took turns firing at Shepard and her companions while the others changed thermal clips. It kept them hemmed in behind their cover while the glowing Collector glided towards them lobbing balls of flame, singeing the metal of the crates badly.

"This hurts you, Shepard. Your form is fragile," it goaded them haughtily.

The open space between them and the transmitter was too dangerous to traverse. Every time they were able to break the lines of Collector fire long enough to move positions, a group of husks would sally out of a building to herd them back into cover again. The husks were weak but they were almost too fast to shoot, a group of them could dart between the stacks of crates and be on them before there was time to do much more than drop their weapons and use their fists to defend themselves. Shepard was able to take out entire groups with her shockwaves if there was enough open ground between them, but more often than not they came from multiple directions at once, one group would sacrifice themselves so another could get close. It was a primitive form of attack, but effective.

They were able to carefully edge their way towards the transmitter but their progress was slow, and the Collectors gained ground more quickly. The glowing Collector's attacks were particularly relentless and entirely focused on Shepard. Garrus and Miranda were left to defend her against the rest of the Collector forces while Shepard focused on avoiding the flames.

The glowing Collector pronounced, "My attacks will tear you apart. You will know pain, Shepard."

Garrus was really starting to hate that guy.

Shepard was evidentially thinking the same thing because she growled, "Can someone shut that jackass up?"

Garrus watched it as it glided towards one of the stacks of construction supplies and had an idea. He aimed carefully and waited until the right moment.

"Gladly."

Garrus fired a shot from his sniper rifle past the Collector and into one of the metal canisters behind him. It exploded in a glorious gout of flame when his bullet punctured the canister and oxygen ignited the welding fuel, catching the glowing Collector in the blast.

It declared, "This body does not matter," as it burned to ash.

The remaining Collectors milled around disoriented upon the death of the glowing Collector. Miranda and Shepard took full advantage, killing them quickly with their combined biotics. Garrus and Miranda rushed towards the transmitter as soon as the Collectors were dead, but Shepard stopped to scoop up one of the dropped beam weapons.

"Huh," she said, "Near as I can tell this one's still got a mostly full charge. I'll take it."

Trust Shepard to get sidetracked by shiny guns. He wished he'd thought to take one himself.

When he got to the transmitter Garrus yanked open the panel and connected his omni-tool. Shepard crowded behind him impatiently and asked, "Can you fix it?"

"Relax Shepard. I can fix the errors in the calibration software easily. But those defense towers are going to take time to power up and I don't think we'll be able to hide it from the Collectors."

Miranda looked over his shoulder and her eyes widened. "I think they know already."

Garrus looked and saw more Collectors pouring down the stairs and coming towards them. He started to lift his weapon but Shepard stopped him. "We have to get the towers online. They're just going to keep coming until we do."

"I'm not going to sit here pushing buttons while you get shot at."

"Calibrations are your thing, Garrus. Mine is hitting things."

Garrus swore at Shepard's back as she ran to engage the oncoming Collectors. He turned back to the transmitter tower and started working feverishly. He tried not to look up as bullets whizzed past and trust Miranda and Shepard to handle the enemy.

"You are arrogant Shepard, you will learn."

Garrus did look up from his work at the sound of that voice. He saw another one of those glowing Collectors. The voice sounded the same. How could it be the same one? He watched Shepard try his same trick, she used her biotics to blow it into one of the metal canisters before shooting it with her pistol and exploding it. Again, the Collector was engulfed in flames.

"You only delay the inevitable," it said as it died again.

Up on the second story he saw a third Collector rise into the air and watched glowing cracks spread across its surface.

"Assuming control of this form."

Shepard yelled, "Are you kidding me?"

Garrus realized that these glowing Collectors weren't unique entities. There was some other entity elsewhere controlling the Collectors, augmenting their abilities as it.. possessed them? They could kill it over and over again, and it would keep coming back. Now he was really pissed off. When he killed something, he expected it to _stay dead_.

Garrus ground his teeth in frustration as he continued working through the error-ridden system. Who the hell had programmed this in the first place? He was almost done, but that was only the first step to getting the defense towers back online. He worked quickly to repatch the transmitter's communications array. As soon as he did, a familiar voice sounded over the comms, weak and staticky, "Joker here. Commander, do you copy?"

Garrus wasn't sure he'd ever been as glad to hear Joker's voice. Since Shepard was occupied by trying to stay alive, he responded, "Signal's weak, but we've got you. EDI, can you get the colony's defense towers online?"

"By-passing fail safes and beginning emergency power up. Please stand by."

Garrus unholstered his weapon gratefully. Standing around while Shepard did all the real work was definitely not his style. He saw Miranda crouched behind some crates nearby, and Shepard was out in the open on the other side of the field. She was just finishing a biotic charge at one of the glowing Collectors who was still droning on about being the harbinger of their destiny as she shot it in the head with her pistol. She hadn't yet turned to see the Collector armed with another of those particle beams coming up behind her. He cycled in one of his special concussive rounds and hit the Collector, staggering it as it's biotic barriers collapsed. He reloaded his standard rounds quickly and shot again while it was still stunned.

"One less to worry about,"he shouted.

Shepard laughed and shouted back, "Show off."

EDI announced serenely, "Sequential power up initiated. GARDIAN anti-ship batteries at 40%. Please hold the defense tower."

Easier said than done. The Collectors kept steady pressure on them and the fighting flowed around the open space around the transmitter. It was a race between how quickly EDI could arm the defense tower and the Collector's attempts to kill them. Shepard mainly focused on stalling tactics. She kept moving, forcing the enemies to follow, always keeping close enough to the defense tower that Miranda and Garrus could take a more protected position there and defend it.

"GARDIAN anti-ship batteries at 60%. Syncing controls to Normandy's systems."

Just as EDI finished speaking Garrus saw a dark shape flying towards them from the Collector's ship. His heart sank as its shadow fell over them. It looked exactly like one of the seeker swarm bugs except, oh, a thousand times larger. It landed on the ground with an ear-piercing screech.

"EDI," Shepard said urgently, "We need that system online!"

The creature scuttled after Shepard with it's remarkably swift six-legged gait and attacked, dual particle beams erupting from it's eyes. It was swathed in the purple glow that indicated it was protected biotically. Miranda was able to destroy its barriers but when Garrus fired at it, he saw his bullets had little effect. The damn thing was armored as well. Garrus was cycling to his incendiary ammo when another biotic barrier snapped up around the Collector.

"Shit," Miranda cursed. "It regenerates fast."

"GARDIAN anti-ship batteries at 100%. I have control. Firing anti-ship batteries at Collector vessel."

Garrus heard the sound of the massive guns rotating to target the Collector vessel. He didn't have the leisure to watch however as the buzzing Collector was still angrily attacking them. It hovered in the air using its particle beams to torch every piece of cover Shepard tried to duck behind. He kept up a barrage of fire in an attempt to distract it long enough for Shepard to escape but it didn't seem at all phased by his attack, it pursued Shepard with a relentless fervor.

"Well maybe it'd like a taste of it's own medicine," Shepard retorted. She charged away from the creature, phasing through the wall of one of the buildings and disappearing from sight. She reappeared in the window, the large particle beam she'd picked up lifted to her shoulder and she fired. A searing white beam cut through the air and struck the flying Collector, slicing through its biotics and armor as easily as it had through their own. The Collector shrieked and recoiled from the attack. Garrus and Miranda pressed their own attacks and finally the huge creature's armor cracked under the force.

They were nearly deafened by the sound of the anti-ship batteries as they all fired on the Collector ship. They looked up to see fiery explosions as the rounds thudded into the hull. The ground rumbled and shook and they were all thrown down as the engines roared and the Collector ship shook itself free of the earth.

"They're pulling out," Miranda said. "They wanted the colonists and now they've got them."

Garrus got shakily to his feet watched as the engines lit the entire sky with a burning orange light and the Collector ship receded into the distance.

"No! Don't let them get away!" Delan was racing down the hill towards them.

"There's nothing we can do," Shepard said. "They're gone."

Delan paced with helpless frustration, staring up at the sky where the Collector ship was fast disappearing from sight. "Half the colony is in there," he railed. "They took Egan and Sam and.. Lilith." He turned to Shepard angrily. "Do something!"

"I didn't want it to end this way. I did what I could."

"More than most, Shepard." Garrus stepped up behind her and touched her her arm. He raised his voice so Delan could hear him clearly, "More than the guy who just hid in his hole the entire time."

Delan had stilled at the mention of her name. "Shepard? Wait. I know that name." He paused, then said, "Sure I remember you. You're some type of Alliance hero."

"Commander Shepard. Captain of the Normandy," a new voice said. They all turned to see a dark-haired soldier coming around from behind one of the nearby buildings. She wore the same white and red armor she'd worn the last time Garrus had seen her. Ashley continued to list Shepard's accomplishments as she closed the distance between them.

"The first human Spectre. Savior of the Citadel. You're the in presence of a god, Delan." She stared at Shepard, wonder on her face. "Back from the dead."

Delan ruined the moment by grousing, "All the good people we lost and you get left behind? Figures. Screw this, I'm done with you Alliance types." He made a dismissive gesture and walked away, muttering under his breath with disgust. Garrus was glad to see her, even if Delan disagreed.

Ashley reached out a hand to Shepard and waited. It took Shepard a long moment, but she finally grasped Ashley's hand and shook it.

"I thought you were dead," Ashley said with a slight quaver in her voice. "Commander. We all did."

Shepard smiled a crooked smile and said, "It's been too long, Ash. How've you been?"

"That's it?" Ashley dropped Shepard's hand and stared at her. Garrus groaned inwardly. Shepard was so _bad_ at this sort of thing sometimes.

"You show up after two years and act like nothing's happened?" Ashely asked, hurt in her voice. Garrus winced in sympathy. Still, she could stand to cut Shepard a _little_ slack.

Ashley seemed to be in no mood to cut anyone slack. "I would have followed you _anywhere,_ Commander. I thought you were gone.. I.. " She paused, overcome by emotion. "You were more than our Commander. Why didn't you try to contact me?" she demanded. "Why didn't you let me know you were alive?"

"Not my choice. I was in some kind of coma for the last two years while Cerberus rebuilt me."

Ashely stepped back, a look of disgust coming into her face.

"You're with Cerberus now? Garrus too? So the reports were true?"

"Reports? So much for security," Miranda said dryly.

The glare Ashley gave Miranda should have seared her to the bone. To Shepard, she said, "Alliance intel said Cerberus could be behind our missing colonies. We got a tip that this one could be the next to get hit. I went to Anderson but he wouldn't talk."

Shepard snorted. Ashley ignored her interruption. "But there were rumors that you weren't dead. Worse; that you were working for the enemy."

Shepard scowled and anger to match Ashley's seeped into her voice, "I didn't choose to have them bring me back, but Cerberus and I want the same thing—to save our colonies. Accepting their help doesn't mean I answer to them." Shepard gestured emphatically.

"Do you really believe that?" Ashley asked incredulously. "I wanted to believe you were alive.. I just never expected anything like _this_."

"Like _what?_ " Shepard shot back. "The Alliance has turned their back on these colonies. Cerberus is the only group willing to do something about it!"

"Bullshit! I know what Cerberus is like." Ashley pointed at Miranda, her voice filled with derision. "They talk about putting humans first, but at what cost?"

Ashley turned back to Shepard. "You've turned your back on everything we stood for!" She shook with anger. "You betrayed the Alliance.. Anderson.. You betrayed me."

Shepard took an almost imperceptible step backwards. Garrus only noticed because he was standing so close to her that he felt her back brush against his chest. He could see her shoulders hunch ever so slightly under the weight of Ashley's accusations. His own temper started to rise.

"Betrayed _Anderson?_ You're not the only one he refused to talk to." Shepard clenched her teeth and took a deep breath. She let it out slowly and tried again, more reasonably, "Ash, you know me. You know I'd only do this for the right reason. You saw it yourself!" She gestured to the empty colony all around them. "The Collectors are targeting _human_ colonies, and they're working with the Reapers."

Ashley shook her head and said, "I'd like to believe you, Shepard. But I don't trust Cerberus, and it worries me that you do. What did they do to you? What if they're behind it? What if they're the ones working with the Collectors?"

Garrus had heard just about enough. "Dammit, Williams! You're so focused on Cerberus that you're ignoring the real threat! And since when did you get so precious about pro-human organizations? I would have thought you'd agree with them."

Ashley sneered at him, "I'm no fan of aliens, Garrus, but Cerberus has a history of being extremist. I'll never work for a group like that. I can't believe _you_ do. Don't they despise you?"

Garrus folded his arms. "No worse than you did when we first met." Ashley flinched guiltily as his barb struck home. "And I go where Shepard goes. It's called loyalty."

Ashley jerked a thumb at her chest, "I still know where my loyalties lie. I'm an Alliance soldier, it's in my blood."

To Shepard she said, "Maybe you feel like you owe Cerberus because they saved you. Doesn't matter. I'm reporting back to the Citadel. I'll let them decide if they believe your story."

"We both know how that's going to turn out," Shepard said, her voice full of scorn. "The Alliance will try to blame Cerberus, just like you did."

"With good reason. Cerberus can't be trusted." Ashley stood there for a moment, eyes locked with Shepard. Garrus knew there was no way for them to resolve this. Both women were too stubborn. Ashley finally said, "So long, Commander. Good luck." Then she turned to hike up the hill after Delan.

Shepard stood still, just breathing, her eyes focused on some point in the distance. Then she turned as well and headed towards the outskirts of the colony in the opposite direction from Ashley. She spoke into her comms, "Joker, send the shuttle. I've had enough of this colony."

Shepard didn't say another word while they waited for Joker to return with the shuttle. She said nothing when the shuttle arrived, she simply got on board and threw the helmet of her hardsuit onto the seat with a loud clang before taking a seat. She sat silently for the return trip hunched over in her seat, elbows resting on her knees. Her hands were clasped so tightly together that Garrus could see her knuckles turning white. Garrus leaned his head against the bulkhead, tiredness starting to settle in as the energy from the fight with the Collectors drained away. Saving half the colony wasn't perfect, but it wasn't bad for a day's work. He knew it wouldn't be enough for Shepard though. Humans always wanted to save everyone. He was frustrated too, but his frustration stemmed from the feeling that they didn't really know anything now that they hadn't already guessed before. They weren't any closer to figuring out what the Collectors were doing with all the humans they abducted, or to finding a way to stop them for good. The only thing they'd really learned was that Mordin's countermeasures worked against the seeker swarms. Garrus smiled a little thinking that while everyone sat here grim-faced the salarian doctor was probably in a state of scientific ecstasy.

Garrus let his eyes slide shut. No one else seemed inclined to talk, and every once in awhile he knew when to keep his mouth shut.

"Hey Commander.."

Joker apparently hadn't learned that lesson yet. Garrus opened one eye enough to see Joker had turned in his pilot's chair to speak to Shepard.

"It's pretty crazy the people you can run into around here," he continued in an upbeat tone. "I mean, it was probably a set up, but it was still good to see Ash." Shepard just stared at him, her face still set in hard lines.

"Wasn't it?"Joker asked tentatively.

Shepard sat back and rubbed a hand across her face. She said, "We're still friends. Barely. She's moved on. I can't really blame her." There was so much weariness in her voice.

Joker snorted and groused, "She was on the front line with you blowing up half the Citadel. And I'm the one who gets roped back into saving the galaxy? Did someone switch our files?"

"You're the force that holds it all together, Joker."

"Yeah, this sucks, I'll give you that."

Jacob was waiting for them in the shuttle bay when they landed.

"Illusive Man is waiting to talk to you."

"Oh I'll just bet he is," Shepard growled.

Garrus perked up at this news. He had been with Shepard for weeks but hadn't had any contact with the man calling the shots. Garrus followed her along with Miranda and Jacob to the conference room. He was vaguely disappointed to see it was empty. It had been foolish to hope that the man might have come in person. He watched with interest as the holographic image of the Normandy that was normally projected into the open space in the center of the large, oddly-shaped conference table flickered out and the table itself sunk into the floor. It wasn't until Shepard stepped precisely into the center and a holographic scanning field flared to life around her that he realized the room served as long-distance comms. Whoever was on the other end would only be able to communicate with Shepard, everyone else was outside of the radius of the transmitter. The lights in the room dimmed and the back wall of the room glowed as a holographic image was projected against it. Garrus saw a man lounging in a chair, one leg crossed over the other. His eyes had an electric blue light that Garrus found unsettling. Behind him the view was completely dominated by a dying red supergiant star.

The Illusive Man took a drag on the cigarette he was holding before he spoke. "Shepard. Good work on Horizon. Hopefully the Collectors will think twice about abducting another colony."

Shepard was standing stiffly with her hands curled into fists at her sides. She replied coldly, "It's not a victory. We interrupted the Collectors, but they still abducted half the colony.

The man gestured with his cigarette and when he responded his voice was surprisingly kind, "That's better than an entire colony, and more than we've accomplished since the abductions began. The Collectors will be more careful now, but I think we can find another way to lure them in."

Garrus found himself bewildered. Was the man actually trying to comfort Shepard? Garrus hadn't expected him to froth at the mouth and yell anti-alien obscenities with every breath exactly, but he certainly hadn't expected someone with this much empathy. He exuded confidence and charisma. Garrus was starting to realize that Cerberus' leader held the group together with equal parts charm, competence, _and_ xenophobic fervor.

Shepard folded her arms and narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "I'd wondered if you had something to do with that attack. Ash said the Alliance got a tip about me and Cerberus. Was that you?"

"I may have let it slip that you were alive. And with Cerberus."

"You risked the lives of my friend, my crew, and that entire colony? Just to lure the Collectors there?" Shepard snarled.

"A calculated risk." The kindness had left his voice. Here was the aloof strategist Garrus had been expecting. He actually found him less unsettling this way. It was too easy to be lulled by a charming exterior into forgetting how sharp the edge of the blade was until it cut you.

The Illusive Man took another drag on his cigarette before continuing, "I suspected the Collectors were looking for you, or people connected to you. Now I know for certain. I told you I wouldn't sit and wait while the Reapers and Collectors gather strength. Besides, they would've hit another colony eventually. And without a way to predict which one, they would've abducted everyone."

"We have to make sure they don't abduct anyone else."

"I want the Collectors stopped for that very reason," he said soothingly, his tone friendly once again. "That's why we're doing this. I'm devoting all resources to finding a way through the Omega 4 relay. We have to hit them where they live. Your team will need to be strong.. As well as their resolve. There's no looking back. The same goes for you." He paused before asking, "Can I assume you've put your past relationships behind you?"

Garrus could only assume the man was referring to Ashley. He felt himself bristling defensively on Shepard's behalf.

"None of your damn business," Shepard retorted.

The Illusive Man's tone sharpened, "If it affects the mission, better you should leave it behind. Shepard, once we find a way through the Omega 4 relay to the Collector homeworld, there's no guarantee you'll return. To have any hope of surviving you—and your team—must be fully committed to this."

"Let me worry about them," she said derisively. "You just find us a way to the Collector homeworld."

The Illusive Man shifted in his seat, annoyance on his face. "I just want to be upfront about your odds. You'll need everyone at their best. I'll forward more dossiers. Keep building your team while I find a way through the relay. And be careful, Shepard. The Collectors will be watching you."

The image of the Illusive Man and his star flickered and cut out. The glowing grid around Shepard died and the lights in the room came back on. Garrus tried to catch Shepard's eye but Jacob stepped in front of him and blocked his view.

Jacob said, "I guess we're really gonna do it. Hit the Omega 4 relay. Take the fight to the Collectors in person." He pounded one fist in an open palm. "Looking forward to the action. After seeing what those bastards did on Horizon though.. Makes you think."

"I need you sharp and focused if we're gonna get this done, Taylor," Shepard said curtly.

"No argument there, Commander. Horizon just made it hit home. What we're doing, what we're up against. Gonna go take care of a little unfinished business. I imagine everyone else is too," and he looked at Miranda. "Getting some closure you know?"

Shepard just nodded tightly and left. Jacob watched her leave, then frowned wordlessly at Miranda. She shook her head at him, an odd mirror of their exchange when he had first met them. Then it had been Miranda who was suspicious and angry at Shepard and Jacob who let it go. The sympathy on Miranda's face was gratifying, if unexpected. Garrus cleared his throat, pushed past them gently, and walked out towards the bridge. He arrived just in time to see the yeoman interrupt Shepard's beeline for the elevator.

"Commander, I've seen the initial reports about Horizon.."

Shepard cut her off with an abrupt gesture. "Not now, Kelly."

"Ma'am, what you did was amazing, I just.."She stopped and swallowed at the sight of Shepard's glare. "Um, also Doctor Chawas passed along word that she wanted to see you when you returned from the planet."

"Fine," Shepard said shortly and turned on her heel to get into the elevator.

Garrus was about to follow her when Mordin burst through the doors. "Commander!" he called.

Shepard just let the elevator doors shut without stopping.

"Well. Difficult mission. Fatigue likely." Mordin's eyes fell on Garrus and his expression brightened. "Vakarian! You will do. Come. Your omni tool has data on seeker swarms. Must analyze effectiveness of countermeasures. Personal observations also important. Come, come." Mordin herded Garrus towards the lab as he burbled excitedly with scientific zeal, not letting Garrus get a word in edgewise.


	5. What Kind of Day Has It Been?

Garrus was grateful when he finally pulled off the last piece of armor and dropped it to the floor next to his bunk in the forward battery. When he'd finally left Mordin in his lab the salarian had still been going full-tilt, excited about finding ways to optimize his countermeasures against the seeker swarms and using the data Garrus and the others had collected about the paralyzed colonists. Garrus didn't understand even half of what he said, and he was bone-tired.

The Cerberus crew found his choice of lodgings strange, but there was something very comforting to him about sleeping next to the biggest gun on the ship. Besides, it's not as if he were exactly welcome in the crew quarters. All of the non-Cerberus crew Shepard had recruited recognized the tacit "KEEP OUT" sign on the door and had found other places to bunk. Zaeed and Grunt bunked down in the cargo bays, Jack had found herself a hidey hole underneath the main engineering deck. He wasn't sure Mordin actually slept at all, but if he did, he would have slept in his lab regardless of what his welcome was like among the crew.

They left the Cerberus crew alone, and the Cerberus crew were gracious enough to return the favor. It wasn't a large ship and relations had settled into a grudging detente. They may not like each other, but they knew they had to work together. The humans didn't bother Garrus once he'd retreated to the area he'd staked out. Garrus made sure to keep the guns in perfectly calibrated order to ensure they never had any reason to intrude upon his space either. So he was very surprised when the doors hissed open and Kelly Chambers entered.

She looked around and called out tentatively, "Hello? Mister Vakarian? May I speak with you?"

Kelly was one of the few Cerberus crew members who wasn't hostile to him and had actually engaged him in conversation. He believed that her friendliness wasn't feigned, she seemed genuinely interested in all of the people on board, alien or not. Generally he wasn't averse to talking with her, but the mission to the Horizon colony had been taxing, physically and emotionally. The interaction with Williams had left a bad taste in his mouth. After the debriefing with the Illusive Man, he wasn't feeling particularly well-disposed towards Cerberus either. He wasn't in any sort of mood to deal with even the most pleasant of its members.

"Not right now," he replied, a little more brusquely than he'd intended.

"Please? It's about Shepard."

"I think Shepard's had a hard enough day, let's leave her out of it."

"That's what I mean. I'm worried about her."

"Horizon was tough on everyone."

Kelly hesitated for a moment before she asked, "Do you know what my function on the ship is?"

Garrus wasn't sure what she was getting at, and he was running short on tact. "I'm not in the mood for guessing games."

"The Illusive Man assigned me to the Normandy because I'm also a trained psychologist," Kelly explained. "He felt it was important considering the nature of our mission."

"You mean the whole sailing into certain doom part?"

Kelly nodded. "He wanted me here to.. assess the emotional state of the crew."

"So you've.. assessed.. something wrong in Shepard's emotional state, have you? I'm sure that took all of your considerable training to suss out."

Most of the crew had taken one look at Shepard's face after she stormed out of the briefing room and discovered they had incredibly pressing tasks anywhere else. Not Kelly, though. Garrus couldn't figure out what her angle was here.

"I'm not sure what you want from _me_ ," he said. "I'm sure Miranda's report will have whatever information you need for your _assessment_."

"This isn't about what I need, but what Shepard needs. I was hoping she would talk to me but.. I don't think she trusts me."

Garrus snorted. "Given her history with Cerberus, that can't be a surprise. Cerberus was responsible for the thresher maw attacks that killed her entire unit. Except her."

"I don't condone what the cell on Akuze did. But you must know that Cerberus cells operate independently."

"Yeah, and it was just a few rogue operators who were responsible, right?" Garrus' voice grew heated. "They held Corporal Toombs for years. The Illusive Man knew _something_. We ran into too many Cerberus cells 'independently' committing atrocities to believe that 'operating independently' crap. So you should complain to your boss about Shepard not trusting you, not me."

Garrus relented a little when he saw the look on Kelly's face. He remembered Kelly's genuine warmth when he came aboard, particularly since it had been in stark contrast to the rest of the Cerberus crew's cool hostility.

"Look, I believe that _you_ didn't know. You may have joined Cerberus with good intentions. But look around. Your fellows can't all say the same. Shepard will _never_ trust Cerberus."

Kelly's shoulders slumped slightly but she nodded. "I was hoping with time she would see we're not all like the people who hurt her. She's been professional, even friendly. I thought we'd developed a rapport. Her resiliency has been quite remarkable, no one really knew what the result of Project Lazarus would be but she's exceeded all expectations."

Garrus shrugged, "That's Shepard. She's unflappable."

"But she _isn't_ ," Kelly insisted. "She just seems like she is. She's good at hiding things. I hadn't realized how good until you came on board."

"Me?"

"She's been different. I hadn't realized how on edge she was until that edge was gone." Kelly smiled at him. "She doesn't trust Cerberus, but she does trust you. She's been holding everything together all by herself for awhile now. No one can do that forever. Since she won't talk to me, I was hoping to convince you to try."

Garrus hadn't been expecting _that_. His anger was replaced by uncertainty. "Talk to her? About what?"

"Whatever happened on Horizon stirred up something. She's back on edge again, even more than when she first woke up."

Garrus ran a hand along his crest, feeling self-conscious. "Look, I'm no good at talking to people. And she hasn't been alone. She trusts Joker and Chakwas as much as she trusts me."

Kelly shook her head. "She trusts Joker and Chakwas, but they need her to be the commander, the one who always knows what to do. That's not what she needs right now. I think she trusts you to handle things when they go really wrong. Maybe it takes an alien to see her as just a human."

Garrus wasn't sure what to say to that. He wasn't sure he really did see Shepard as merely human. She had died and come back to life, after all. But he did consider Shepard to be his best, and at this point, possibly his only real friend. He'd never even considered the possibility that maybe it was the same for her.

"If I screw this up, and there's a real chance that I will, I'm blaming you," he growled.

Garrus found Shepard still in the medbay. She and Chakwas were sitting in chairs, holding glasses of some sort of liquor. They raised their glasses towards each other as Shepard said solemnly, "To Jenkins. To Pressly. To Kaidan."

Chakwas replied, "May they never be forgotten. And to Shepard, our immovable center. A place where a woman can stop and catch her breath."

They swayed as they clinked glasses, then threw back the remaining liquor. Shepard contemplated her empty tumbler morosely. She looked up at Garrus, the movement carrying her head a little too far back and she had to correct.

"Garrus! D'you remember that time when Jenkins.." She trailed off. "No. Wouldn't. Died on Eden Prime. Before your time." She waved her empty glass vaguely. "You'dve liked Jenkins. He was a hothead too. Right, doc? Doc?"

She turned to Chakwas for confirmation, but the doctor had climbed up onto one of the medical beds and passed out. Shepard frowned. "Some Alliance soldier you are. Can't even hold yer liquor. Pretty sure they don'let you outta Jump Zero if you can't."

Garrus picked up the bottle on the desk to read the label.

"Serise ice brandy. The good stuff," Shepard informed him. Then she frowned hard, thinking. "Can you drink that one?"

Garrus waved the bottle gently to show it was empty. "Not now, I can't."

"We drank the whole bottle already?" Shepard looked ruefully at the sleeping Chakwas. "I take it back, doc. You're a credit to the uniform."

Shepard looked down at herself and made a disgusted noise. She was wearing Cerberus ship clothes. "Such as it is."

Garrus stood there awkwardly for a moment, hunting for something to say. Maybe he should've asked Kelly for some suggestions. He didn't even know what she wanted him to talk to her about. Though he had to admit that, hearing Chakwas' comment as he'd come in, maybe she had a point. He wondered if Shepard had a place to rest and catch her breath.

"So," he said. "What are we celebrating?"

Shepard tried to take a sip from her empty tumbler and her frown deepened.

"The fallen. Y'know, I got her this bottle to replace the one she lost when the.. when the Normandy went down. The other one. She figured we'd better drink this one while we had the chance."

"Not a bad idea," Garrus agreed. "And to celebrate a successful mission I hope?"

"Some success," she said as she pushed herself out of the chair with a disgusted noise. "We only saved half the colony."

"Better than none."

Shepard waved his words away with the hand still holding the glass. Garrus watched it with some trepidation.

"The Illusion Man.. So smug at setting it all up, wasn't he? If he'd've told us the entire plan maybe.."

"You can't save them all, Shepard."

"Tell that t'Ash," she said morosely. "She hates me now. Not that I blame her."

Garrus plucked the empty glass from her hand. "Ash doesn't hate you."

"You heard her down there." Shepard gestured to the Cerberus uniform. "Traitor to the Alliance. Y'know, Jenkins, Kaidan.. They all died for that uniform. Because of me."

Garrus watched her weave unsteadily while she paced the room until she took one of the turns a little too forcefully and stumbled over her own feet. He just managed to grab her elbow and right her before she landed in an undignified heap. He'd seen her drink before, but not like this. The pain in her voice hurt.

"Ash doesn't hate you, and Kaidan wouldn't either. " Garrus said firmly, "Technically you died for that uniform too."

Shepard laughed weakly at that.

"Though I am pretty sure he wouldn't approve of this much drinking," he said and tried to tug her towards the medbay door. Shepard tried to resist, sticking her lower lip out mulishly.

"He would if it was bourbon."

Garrus just shook his head. Stubborn was better than sad. He wound his arm around hers and walked her out of the medbay. She murmured a mild protest at the movement, but gave in. They lurched out of the medbay and towards the elevator, Garrus practically dragging her the entire way. Garrus punched the key that would take them to the topmost deck of the ship.

"Com'on old friend. Let's get you to bed."

"M'not old. Wait, how old am I now, anyway? Do years count if you're dead?"

Garrus chuckled, "I'm going to need to get as drunk as you to think about the answer to that question without it making my brain hurt."

He'd give Cerberus this, they sure knew how to build ships. The commander's cabin on the old Normandy had been little more than a closet next to the main battery. The room that occupied that position in the ship now was Miranda's office. The engine room in the new Normandy had to be taller to accommodate the new engine and as a result had created a little bit of dead space over the CIC beneath the exterior pressure hull. They had outfitted that space to serve as living quarters for Shepard. It was essentially a very small apartment and it was beautifully appointed. It had two levels separated by a short staircase. The upper level was equipped as an office with a desk and a computer console. A glass wall display case separated the upper level from the lower. He was surprised to see that Shepard had filled it with a number of model ships. He saw a model version of the old Normandy SR-1, and one of the Destiny Ascension, the huge asari dreadnought that served as the flagship of the Citadel fleet. He was pleased to see a turian cruiser as well.

The lower level had a sleeping area containing a large bed and a closet, as well as a seating area with a couch and a low table. One whole wall was taken up by a huge salt-water fish tank, an unthinkable luxury on any of the military crafts on which he'd served. He suspected that for Shepard, the room's biggest appeal was neither the fish tank nor the music system, but the private bathroom. Privacy was one of the most precious commodities on the crowded confines of a starship.

Garrus was pretty grateful for that privacy now as he walked the very inebriated commander inside. He kept her steady as they descended the stairs and lowered her carefully to the couch. She managed to stay mostly upright in her seat, slowly sinking down until her head could rest on the back the couch. As her eyes slid shut a single tear spilled from beneath their lids and down her cheek.

Garrus found himself at a loss. C-Sec had required all their officers to take training courses on alien social behavior and alien body language. It was important to be able to distinguish between an alien who was just being friendly and one who was being aggressive. Elcor were tricky, they communicated emotion through scent and had little visible body language. Fortunately they were also rarely a problem for C-Sec, except that serial killer who had turned out to be an elcor. That had surprised everyone. Humans could be difficult for the opposite reason: they had highly mobile faces and had a huge array of body language and tonal language shifts they employed to communicate. Trying to remember all the variations to parse any given interaction could be exhausting. Garrus had become much more adept at interacting with humans after joining Shepard's crew on the original Normandy, but he knew he frequently came up with the wrong response even if he'd read the situation correctly. And C-Sec had never offered, "How to Comfort Your Commanding Officer" as a training option.

He cleared his throat awkwardly. "Um.." He cast around for something to say, for anything he could do. "Can I get you something?"

"Water. In the bathroom." She groaned and rubbed her closed eyes. She sounded a bit better than she had in the medbay, she was no longer slurring her speech. She'd told him once that human biotics metabolized alcohol more quickly.

Happy to have a task he knew he could accomplish, he went into the bathroom and rummaged around until he found an empty glass he filled with water from the sink. He brought it back to the main room and sat next to her on the couch so he could hand it to her. She sat up gingerly and drank it slowly. When she finished she set the glass on the table in front of her. Then she let out a sigh and slid sideways, leaning her shoulder against his arm. Uncertain what to do now, Garrus tried to think back on all the interactions between humans he'd witnessed. Most species had social norms regarding physical contact and he wasn't completely certain what was appropriate in these circumstances. Humans were a lot freer with touch than turians, but then, humans didn't have a hard carapace or spend nearly as much time completely encased in armor.

Well, he wasn't wearing his armor now. And she'd leaned against him first. Garrus tentatively stretched out the arm Shepard was leaning against and wrapped it around her shoulders. When she laid her head on his shoulder he let out the breath he hadn't been aware of holding. So far so good, he hadn't done the wrong thing yet.

Shepard was quiet for a long time, then she asked, "Was she right? Have I forgotten who I am?"

It took Garrus a moment to figure out whom she was referring to. "Ash? Com'on Shepard, you know she was wrong."

Shepard's voice was so sad and confused, it broke his heart to hear. "Was she? I'm starting to like them, Garrus."

"Like who?"

"The Cerberus crew."

Garrus squeezed her gently. He thought of the funny engineers, Ken and Gabby. He thought of Kelly and how she had come to him. Jacob openly disliked aliens, but he never failed to treat Garrus with respect. Even Miranda, who had been suspicious of Shepard at the beginning seemed to be thawing.

"I like them too," Garrus said. "Some of them, anyhow. They're not all bad. Even Cerberus was bound to make mistakes and recruit a few good ones."

Shepard chuckled and sighed. "I don't know, Garrus. They're my crew. I try not to get attached but.. They're _mine_. Even if they're Cerberus, they're still _my_ people. To get the job done and keep them safe.. It's hard not to care."

"I won't blame you for caring, Shepard. Ashley shouldn't blame you either. It's what makes you a good leader."

"But _Cerberus_.."

She studied her scarred hands, turning them over and over again. Garrus tapped the back of her hands with one finger.

"You know, you never actually told me the story of these scars."

He felt her shrug. He shook her gently.

"Have you told _anyone_ about what happened?"

He felt her shake her head.

"Tell me now."

He could feel her stiffen under his arm and start to pull away. He tried to forestall her withdrawal by blurting out, "The day you died was the day I quit C-Sec."

She lifted her head and looked at him, surprise on her face. Garrus shifted a little uncomfortably, embarrassed to remember how he'd felt that day.

"You know where I was? In Executor Palin's office, getting yelled at. Again."

Shepard's lips twitched into a faint smile. "That sounds familiar."

Garrus cleared his throat. "Yeah well. Listening to the Council try to sell the story that the geth were responsible for the attack on the Citadel made me crazy. Watching everyone buy the story made me even more crazy. I know you told me before I went back to try and remember that the rules were there for a reason, but it seemed to me like they were mostly about covering the Council's ass. The executor and I had quite a few chats about my behavior. I was standing there listening to him berate me, and then on the screen behind him I saw the Normandy burning on the news while they reported that you were dead.. I couldn't stand it. I didn't know why I'd ever gone back. I should have stayed on the Normandy, with you."

Shepard settled onto his shoulder again. "You might have died too, so I'm glad you weren't."

"I don't remember everything. The Collectors attacked, we didn't know who they were at the time. Their weapons cut through the shields like they were nothing. There was a fire on the crew deck. Several people were already dead.. I knew we couldn't wait around. I ordered the crew to evacuate. Joker wouldn't leave though. There was a hull breach in navigation, the whole deck had depressurized, so I was wearing my suit. I had to forcibly drag Joker out of his chair and shove him towards the airlock. Stubborn, he thought he could save the ship. I'm still not sure how he made it to the escape pods, because there was another explosion. I was blown out into space."

Garrus shivered a little trying to imagine what it would be like. Untethered, floating in the debris of a ship that was exploding all around him.

"It was so quiet.. It was almost beautiful for a minute.. Then I noticed the leak in my suit. I started to choke, and it was so cold.. Then I passed out."

Garrus realized he'd unconsciously started to breathe too fast, the oxygen in his lungs feeling precious. Shepard had lapsed into silence, struggling with the memory. He tightened his arm around her shoulders sympathetically and waited. Her voice was quiet when she started speaking again.

"When I woke up, I didn't know where I was. The last thing I remembered was the Normandy. It felt like just moments. Everything was blurry, but I could see people, I could hear their voices. They were upset that I was awake. They said it was too soon. There was so much pain, I couldn't even tell where it was all coming from. They dosed me with something and I passed out again.

"The next time I woke I was alone, but I could hear fighting somewhere else. I was pretty disoriented. I had to fight my way out of a medbay through these security mechs. There was a voice over the comms, directing me to a shuttlebay. Miranda, but I didn't know that then. She wouldn't tell me anything except where to go next. I met up with Jacob on the way. I had to pry it out of him, but he's the one who finally told me they were Cerberus."

Shepard's hands curled into fists in her lap. "I was so angry, but it wasn't a good time to start a fight with the only other person I'd met who wasn't trying to kill me. Going with them was the only way I was getting off that station alive. But it all seemed so damn convenient, so perfectly contrived to get me to trust them. Waking me up in the middle of a fight so I was forced to cooperate with them seemed engineered to manipulate me into feeling dependent on them, trusting them. PsyOps at their best. I still wonder.. Miranda claimed one of her techs betrayed them, tried to sabotage Project Lazarus over money. But she shot the man responsible and has never offered concrete evidence that he hacked the mechs.

"They took me to speak to the Illusive Man. He said I'd died, but they'd brought me back. Humanity needed me to fight an enemy no one else was willing to do anything about, one who was abducting whole colonies at a time. Who turned out to be the very enemy that had killed me. Who, by the way, were probably connected to the Reapers?" She shook her head. "Too damn convenient. It sounded like the story from a holovid, not real life."

After meeting the Illusive Man, Garrus could easily believe the man was manipulative enough to have done exactly as Shepard had feared. Thinking about her waking up alone in Cerberus' hands made him angry.

"The idea that they'd brought me back from the dead seemed so ludicrous. But I remembered the Normandy going down. I remembered there had been a leak in my suit. But after that.. Well, you don't remember being dead." She chuckled darkly.

"I didn't trust the Illusive Man. Not for a second. All the information I had was coming from him, and I couldn't trust it. I'd been dead for two years? Had I really been dead, or just imprisoned? Had it actually been two years? I doubted everything. But I knew I'd have to go along with them, at least at first. Until there was a chance to escape, something I wasn't going to be able to do on my own without a ship or any way of contacting the Alliance. So I let them take me to Freedom's Progress, to investigate one of the disappeared colonies.. and Tali was there."

Tali had been part of their team to stop Saren. She'd uncovered some of the key evidence they'd used to convince the Citadel Council that Saren was responsible for the geth attack on Eden Prime. Garrus hadn't seen or heard from their old comrades since he had left the Citadel. Being a vigilante had made him a pretty shady friend to have.

"What was Tali doing on a human colony?" he asked.

"There was another quarian there on Pilgrimage, kid called Veetor. After the colony disappeared, she and a few others went to try and find him." Shepard swallowed hard. "She confirmed everything the Illusive Man had said happened to me. I'd been declared dead after the attack on the Normandy. That it had been two years. That everyone from the old crew was gone.."

She trailed off, not willing to share wherever that train of thought was leading her. She was silent for a moment while she regained the threads of the story.

"We found Veetor. We had to kill all of the colony's defense mechs he'd reprogrammed, most of Tali's friends were killed in the process. I asked her to come with me. She wouldn't. She was happy to see me alive, but.. I was with Cerberus. She couldn't trust me completely."

 _Like Williams_ , Garrus thought. It must have cut deep. Tali had idolized Shepard pretty hard. And Shepard hadn't had anyone she trusted to turn to.

"Anyhow," Shepard continued, "She had her own mission."

"Little Tali'Zorah, all grown up with her own missions?" Garrus asked.

"Yeah. It was pretty strange, she wasn't the kid on her own Pilgrimage who'd joined up with us on the Citadel." Shepard shrugged. "I already told you what Anderson and the Council said. I went to them first thing after Freedom's Progress. Making me a Spectre, banishing me to the Terminus Systems.. Anderson was sympathetic but he said he couldn't help me. I never expected much from the Council, but Anderson? Has he really become such a politician in the last two years?

"I had been determined to find a way to extract myself from Cerberus. I believed in the Illusive Man's mission by then, but I didn't want to undertake it on his terms. If Anderson had just trusted me I would've left right then. But it was clear I had no allies there, I had no allies anywhere. Just Cerberus."

Her voice grew bitter. "I've been Alliance my whole life. I spent my whole childhood a Navy brat. I enlisted as soon as I was old enough. If I'm not Alliance, then what am I?"

"You're Commander Shepard. Hero of the Citadel. And the finest officer I've ever served with."

"Doesn't seem to count for much against the black mark of being with Cerberus. Whether I joined them willingly or not."

"I know what Cerberus is like and I came anyway."

"You had a lot of people shooting at you when I found you. Anything would be better than that."

"Hey, for the record, I'd have come with you no matter what. It's been Shepard and Vakarian since the beginning, and I'd rather fight with you at the end than do almost anything else."

She lifted her head off his shoulder and gave him a look, more of her usual spirit in her eyes. "You know, I don't think the Illusive Man was counting on you."

"Oh?"

Shepard smiled crookedly, "The man does his homework, he would have known how resistant I would be to work with him. He had to have at least a couple of people I wouldn't immediately despise, so he brought on Chakwas and Joker. But I bet he was counting on how upset my friends would be if I allied myself with Cerberus. Isolate me, and he starts to look a lot better. Maybe I start to believe in the cause."

Garrus smirked, "He didn't do enough homework to find out who Archangel was. I was pretty careful about that."

"Did you see how pissed Miranda was when she realized we knew each other? She could see all her carefully laid plans falling apart."

"You just say the word, Shepard, and we'll go after Cerberus. I signed on when it was just a suicide mission against the Collectors. Taking on Cerberus seems easy in comparison."

"What would I do without you, Garrus?"

"Oh, you'd still complete your mission. Not as stylishly, of course. But I learned when we went after Saren that Commander Shepard always gets her man. "

She didn't answer, but he felt her body relax against his. He sat with her like that for awhile in silence. After the silence had stretched on for longer than was comfortable, Garrus started to worry he'd finally said the wrong thing.

"Sorry, Shepard, if.."

Shepard made a strange noise, something between a growl and a cough. Garrus craned his head, trying to peer at her face. Her head was on his shoulder again, but his movement caused her to slip a bit. She made no move to check her fall.

 _Is she.. asleep?_

He gently tipped his shoulder and caught her as she rolled off. He lowered her until her head was resting in his lap. She made a few more of those growly, coughing noises as she breathed deeply. Her eyes were shut. Garrus just sat there for awhile, watching her sleep. He lightly brushed a talon along an angry red indentation on her cheek and winced. It was the shape and size of one of his clavicular ridges, it must have been digging into her cheek. Turians were not ideal sleeping places for tender-skinned humans. Aside from the mark though her cheeks were almost smooth. The scars she'd had when she'd found him on Omega had been been healing, fading from a ragged red to a smooth white. Soon the visible damage of her ordeal would be gone. It was clear though she would carry the scars in her heart for far longer. He felt guilty he hadn't seen it sooner. He'd just been so happy to have her back after two long years. Having to deal with Cerberus had seemed to him like a small price to pay to have Shepard back, but her experiences with them had been so much more personal. The price she paid to use their resources was steep. He promised himself she wouldn't have to do it alone.

As carefully as he could, he scooped his commanding officer and friend up in his arms and tucked her into her bed. He quietly refilled her water glass and left it within easy reach before dimming the cabin lights and leaving her to sleep.


	6. Ways and Means

Garrus looked up from his console as the doors to the forward battery hissed open. Shepard was standing on the threshold.

"Hey," she said. "Can I come in?"

"It's your ship, Shepard, you can go where you like."

Shepard smiled wryly and came the rest of the way in, moving carefully. Garrus' mandibles twitched in amusement.

"Didn't you used to brag that human biotics couldn't get hangovers?" he asked.

Shepard rubbed her eyes and shrugged. "I guess no one had tested the effects of Serrice Ice Brandy before."

Shepard considered Garrus for a long moment. She took a breath as if she were about to speak, but let it out again without saying anything. Garrus tilted his head inquisitively and waited. She glanced away and smiled an odd half smile. He couldn't remember having seen an expression like it on her face before. He wasn't sure what it meant. She picked up a tool from the bench he used to maintain his weapons and examined it with an unusual degree of interest. When she looked back at him again her face was composed and business-like.

"I've ordered Joker to take the ship to Illium. The dossiers the Illusive Man forwarded me say we'll find a drell assassin and an asari Justicar there." She tapped the tool against the palm of her other hand contemplatively. "I've never heard of a Justicar before."

"Not many people have," Garrus replied. "They don't usually leave asari space. I've heard stories, though. They live by a strict code and travel around righting whatever wrongs they find, killing anyone who gets between them and justice. No politics, no shades of grey; you're either right or you're wrong." Garrus sighed enviously. "Turians need something like that."

Shepard chuckled at his wistful tone. "I dunno, Garrus. You didn't much like all the rules on the Citadel. A strict code doesn't really seem like your style."

"I didn't like the rules that kept me from doing my job," he pointed out. "The asari let the Justicars do whatever they need to in order to adhere to their code. That would suit me just fine. Well, except for the part where they swear to give up all worldly possessions."

Shepard looked around the room dubiously. "What worldly possessions would you be giving up, exactly?" she asked.

"I have stuff! Well, I _had_ stuff. I had to leave most of it on Omega. It was some pretty good stuff though. Nothing as nice as your ship collection but.."

Shepard chucked the tool at him with mock annoyance. Garrus caught it easily.

"Touchy, touchy, Commander."

Shepard shrugged and folded her arms across her chest. "Anyhow," she said. "I just I came down here to say thanks. For before."

Garrus suppressed the urge to tease her again. He didn't want any more tools thrown at his head.

"You know I've always got your back, Shepard."

The odd smile was back on her face.

"I know, Garrus."

She turned and walked out abruptly, leaving Garrus scratching his head.

When Garrus and Shepard stepped out of the Normandy's airlock they were met by a well-dressed, dark blue asari. Garrus' hand reflexively fell to his weapon holster as he eyed the pair of armed LOKI battle mechs who accompanied her.

"Welcome to Nos Astra, Commander Shepard," the asari said with a friendly, almost obsequious tone. "We've been instructed to wave all docking and administration fees for your visit. My name is Careena, if you need any information about the area, it would be my pleasure to assist you."

"Who instructed you to waive the fees?" Shepard asked, with what Garrus felt was a very healthy degree of suspicion.

"The order came from Liara T'soni, who paid all fees on your behalf, "Careen replied smoothly. "She also asked that I direct you to speak with her at your convenience. She's near the trading floor."

At Liara's name Garrus saw some of the tension go out of Shepard's posture. He didn't ease his own hand off his weapons until after the asari had entered a command into her omni-tool and the mechs turned to march away.

"Alright then, Careena. Tell me about Nos Astra." Shepard said.

"It's an exciting city," Careena said with enthusiasm. "We see a lot of new cultures and goods because of our proximity to the Terminus Systems. Illium is a free-trade world, we've had to relax some standards in order to remain competitive. At the same time, Illium is still an asari planet. You should be as safe here as you would be on the Citadel."

Garrus noted the edge of equivocation that had entered Careena's voice as she spoke about the "relaxed standards" on Illium and he snorted.

Shepard just nodded politely and asked, "What does Liara do here?"

"Liara is one of Nos Astra's most respected information brokers. Information is valuable currency and Liara has done quite well. She said she was looking forward to seeing you."

"Thank you," Shepard said, dismissal in her tone.

"Welcome to our city, Commander. Please enjoy your stay." Careena stepped aside and let them pass.

Garrus gazed out the window as they walked through the corridors of the docking area. Lines of hovercars flitted between the tall, graceful buildings lit with blue and purple lights. Against the gentle pinkish glow of the setting sun, the effect was striking. He had to admit that the asari were no slouches in the architecture department, Nos Astra was a lovely city. As lovely as it was, however, he knew looks were deceiving.

"We were always told Illium is one of the safest places in the galaxy," he remarked to Shepard as they walked. "Until you fell off the grid. Sign the wrong contract, join up with the wrong company, or walk down the wrong alley and it's just as dangerous as anywhere else. Don't let this place fool you. It's no safer here than Omega."

Shepard chuckled as she strolled through the busy crowd. Most people took one look at the small arsenal they carried and got out of their way. The fact that almost no one seemed alarmed in any way told Garrus everything he needed to know about Nos Astra.

"Garrus, you would probably see the danger lurking in flower beds," Shepard complained.

"Can't blame a guy for being cautious." He narrowed his eyes at her thoughtfully. "I noticed you didn't seem particularly surprised that Liara was here."

Shepard shrugged. "I told you I asked the Illusive Man for the whereabouts of the old team when I first woke up. He told me Liara was here."

"You haven't contacted her before now?"

"He also told me there were rumors that she was working for the Shadow Broker. He didn't seem to think contacting her at that time would be prudent, lest information about my revival become widespread. Now I think he just wanted time to spread his own rumors first."

Garrus was surprised at the revelation. The Shadow Broker was one of the most powerful and mysterious figures in the galaxy. He and Shepard had both had run-ins with his minions before. Not all of them had ended in violence, but enough had that he would have been wary of anyone working for him as well. But Liara working for the Shadow Broker? It seemed so out of character for the sheltered asari academic he'd known before.

They reached the trading floor. It was a hub of frenetic activity. There were aliens of all races clustered around information consoles, calling out trades. Others were shopping at kisoks or watching the news feeds on the large screens mounted on the walls. They passed an asari and a volus arguing over how the Collector attacks should change their financial decisions. The volus had an odious plan to short sell shares for the supplies that would likely be donated to any refugees. Typical, all tragedies had their financial vultures.

They ducked out of the press of people and into a quieter corridor that indicated it lead to the administration offices. At the top of a flight of stairs they found a reception desk. The asari seated there rose as they came into view to greet them, then waved them into the office.

"Have you faced an asari commando unit before?" Liara asked the man on the other end of a vidcall. Her voice was a lot more threatening than Garrus remembered.

"Few humans have," Liara continued. "I'll make it simple. Pay me, or I'll flay you alive. With my mind."

Garrus blinked in surprise. He hadn't been able to imagine the sweet, shy Liara he'd known as an agent of the Shadow Broker, but a Liara who could threaten to flay someone so casually over payment? He could easily imagine this woman working for such a sinister figure.

Liara terminated the call and turned around. When she saw Shepard, the severe expression on her face crumbled.

"Shepard.." Liara began, but she stopped, she seemed unable to speak. Her arms parted and she reached out to Shepard hesitantly. He saw Shepard hesitate for a moment too before she let out a breath and stepped into them. Liara's eyes slid shut as she closed her arms around Shepard and laid her head on her shoulder.

"Ah.. Shepard.." Liara breathed, nearly inaudible. "My sources said you were alive, but I never believed.." she said, her tone nervous, but joyful. "It's very good to see you."

"You have sources now?" Shepard asked with an amused smile.

"A few. Sources, contacts, even a little hired muscle. I've been working as an information broker." She turned to Garrus and clasped one of his hands in both of hers. "It's good to see you too, Garrus." She reached up to touch the injured side of his face lightly. He ducked a little, feeling self-conscious and Liara smiled.

"I was worried," she said, "And a little professionally embarrassed when I lost track of you after you left C-Sec."

"No offense, Liara, but I'm glad. If you couldn't find me then the other less friendly people probably couldn't find me either." Garrus eyed the office appreciatively. "You seem to have done alright for yourself with this information brokering gig."

Liara nodded and sat down behind the large desk that was set in front a huge window that gave her an excellent view of both the trading floor below and Nos Astra's skyline. Liara seemed much more intimidating sitting with such an impressive backdrop behind her. The tasteful decor of the office reeked of money, acting as a silent testament to the truth of Liara's skills.

"It's paid the bills since.. well.."Liara trailed off uncertainly.

"Since I died? It's okay to say it," Shepard joked.

"For the last two years," Liara said with some chagrin. "And now you're back, gunning for the Collectors with Cerberus."

Shepard took the chair opposite Liara. "If you know that, then you know I could use your help."

"I can't, Shepard. I'm sorry, I have commitments here. Things I need to take care of."

"What kind of things?" An edge crept into Shepard's voice. "Are you in trouble?"

Liara shook her head quickly. "No, no trouble. But it's been a long two years." She stood restlessly and turned to look out the window, her back to them. "I had things to do while you were gone. I have debts to repay."

"What's this all about Liara?" Shepard asked. "Can't you just talk to me?"

"Don't you think I want to, Shepard?" Liara responded defensively. "This isn't because I don't trust you. This is Illium. Anything I say is probably being recorded. It should be about friendship and trust.. But that's not how it works here."

"These debts, are they to the Shadow Broker?" Shepard asked.

Liara looked at Shepard, surprise on her face.

Shepard shrugged evasively. "I hear things too. Cerberus says you're working for him now."

Liara shook her head, frowning. "I'm not working for the Shadow Broker. But it does involve him, yes. So you must understand why I can't say more."

Shepard nodded a little stiffly. "Fine. Okay. Maybe you can help me another way. I find myself in need of information."

Liara seemed relieved to move onto a less fraught topic. "Of course, what do you want to know?"

"As you know, Cerberus has me building a team to stop the Collectors. There's supposed to be an asari named Samara here on Illium. Do you know where I could find her?"

Liara nodded. "Samara, yes. She arrived recently and registered with tracking officer Dara. She should know Samara's current location."

"I'm also looking for Thane Krios. Have you heard anything about him?"

"The assassin," Liara said, nodding. "Yes, he arrived here a few days ago. My sources tell me he may be targeting a corporate executive, Nassana Dantius.

That name sounded familiar to Garrus. "Nassana? Wasn't she a diplomat on the Citadel?"

"Yes." Shepard twisted her mouth with distaste. "She concocted a story about a sister held hostage that turned out to be complete crap. The sister was blackmailing her and the 'rescue' mission was just a way to get me to kill her and take care of the problem for her. I'm not surprised she's made enemies who want to kill her."

"Krios contacted a woman named Seryna." Liara told them. "She has an office in the cargo transfer levels. Perhaps she can tell you where he is."

Shepard eyed Liara. "That was all just off the top of your head?"

Liara smiled a little smugly. "I'm a very good information broker, Shepard. The world of intrigue isn't that different from a dig site. Except that the dead bodies still smell."

"Well, I should go. I have some people to find." Shepard pushed herself to her feet, but waved Liara back when she started to rise.

"I really am glad to see you, Shepard. I wish I could come with you, truly."

Shepard smiled crookedly. "It's okay. I'll talk to you later, Liara."

Shepard nodded to Liara's assistant on her way out of the office and headed down the stairs. She paused at the bottom, silently watching the crowd of people out on the trading floor with her arms crossed tightly. Eventually she blew out a long breath.

"Guess that's it, then. We're on our own."

"Just you and me against all the Collectors?" Garrus chuckled. "I still like our odds."

Shepard arched a brow at him. "Oh really?"

"Look at it this way, the Collectors already killed you once and all it did was piss you off. I can't imagine they're going to stop you this time. It's their loss that the others will miss getting to help us kick their asses."

Shepard laughed and she dropped her arms to her sides. Garrus nudged her shoulder with his.

"C'mon, we have work to do." Garrus turned and started walking. "I think the transport hub is that way."

Shepard put a hand to his chest to check his movement and shook her head slightly. She had that look on her face that meant she was revising her strategy. "You might like our odds against the Collectors but.. It might be time to let some of the others on on the action. Can't let you hog all the glory, Garrus."

She chuckled at his affronted expression, but her voice lost it's levity as she continued, "It's time to start integrating the others into the team. I've been putting it off, I was hoping some of the others might join us but.."

Shepard shrugged. Garrus growled. He would be damned if he'd let someone else watch Shepard's back, especially one of those lunatics.

"I don't see why that means I'm staying behind."

"They're not the only ones who have to get used to the new arrangement, Garrus. We have to get used to trusting them, too. There are bound to be times when we have to split the team up. I'll need someone to lead the second team, and there's no one I trust more to do that than you. Like now," she said with a smile, "I have a different mission for you. Very important. Recon, if you will."

"Recon?"

"Recon," she said firmly. "I need you to investigate the bars in Nos Astra."

Garrus stared at her in disbelief. "You have to be kidding."

"I'm absolutely serious. You deserve a break." She cuffed his shoulder. "We all do. The Cerberus crew has been working non-stop, and the ship could use some repairs. I'll go collect the new people and give some of the others a trial run. Picking up a couple of people doesn't seem that complicated."

"Don't say that. You," and he pointed at her for emphasis, "Have a knack for _making_ things complicated. At least take Jacob or Miranda," he begged. "Don't take all the crazy people out in a group."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence," Shepard sniffed. "Fine, Jacob. But when I get back, we'll go out. You and me."

"You haven't had enough drinking?" he chided her. He wasn't above being petty.

Shepard winced. "Whatever place you pick, make sure it doesn't have any Serrice ice brandy."

"Okay," he said slowly, still not thrilled with the idea of Shepard going on missions without him. But orders were orders. Jacob was good. Shepard would be fine. Probably. He sighed. "I'll find someplace nice."

Shepard looked aghast. "Nice? No! Find us someplace _fun_."

She gave him a jaunty salute and turned to slip into the crowd. As she left he could just hear her speak into her comms, "Kelly? Tell Jacob and Grunt to suit up, I need them in Nos Astra…"

Garrus retreated to the cafe near the trading floor. The seating area was open on one side, giving a clear view of the floor and the activity there. There were a few other people seated at the tables nearby, some conducting business over beverages, some solo patrons grabbing a quick meal before presumably heading back to work. One of the lone patrons made him look twice. She was human, brown-haired, brown-eyed, deeply tanned skin, dressed conservatively. It wasn't her appearance that made Garrus give her a second glance, though. She appeared to be casually consuming a beverage, but Garrus could see she was just using it as an excuse to surveil someone on the trading floor. He knew a fellow law enforcement professional when he saw one. Her face looked familiar too, but he couldn't immediately place it. She looked like a number of other humans, and he was sure she wasn't C-Sec. Some sort of private investigator? She was skilled enough that she was almost immediately aware of his counter-surveillance. She frowned quizzically, tilting her head to one side in a silent question. She didn't seem threatened by his attention, perhaps she had also pegged him as the former C-Sec agent he was. Garrus just nodded and turned away. Whoever she was and whatever she was doing had nothing to do with him.

Garrus called up the directory for all the businesses on Nos Astra on his omni-tool and started going through the lists of recreational venues. There were a lot of them. He needed to devise a strategy for filtering all the information. What were the most important criteria to consider? Ambiance? Menu? He tried to focus on the task but he was too irritated. Shepard was out there with Cerberus, no doubt stirring up trouble with her usual flair, and he was supposed to look into _bars_? His concentration kept wavering as he replayed the conversation with Liara and Shepard in his mind, and every time he did, his irritation grew. The words on the display became a meaningless blur as his temper rose. He had no patience for cloak and dagger nonsense. Whatever games Liara was playing with the Shadow Broker, they couldn't be more important stopping the Collectors. How could all of Shepard's friends desert her? How could they not jump at the chance to be part of such an important mission?

Liara's refusal in particular baffled him. She had been very attached to Shepard. Of all the non-Alliance crew, Liara had been the only one to stay with her on the Normandy after the Battle of the Citadel. The human crew used to joke that the archaeologist had a crush on the commander, but he'd never really paid much attention to the rumors. Gossip seemed to be a popular activity on human military vessels. The Alliance had very strict rules governing the interpersonal relationships of their military personnel and yet they had all spent a disproportionate amount of their downtime speculating about which members of the crew were sleeping with each other. The senior officers were the most popular targets, Shepard in particular. Factions had formed between those who were rooting for Liara and those instead favored one of their fellow Alliance members, Kaidan Alenko. Discussions between the two groups sometimes even got heated. Garrus had never really understood it. The speculation ended tragically after Kaidan's death on Virmire. His loss affected everyone and though she remained professional, they could all see how badly Shepard had taken it. Garrus would have thought those in Alenko's camp would have cited that as proof that they had been right, or that the Liara proponents would have said the field was now clear for their candidate, but instead both groups just seemed to feel guilty that the romance had been discussed at all. Why they should feel bad about encroaching on Shepard's privacy only after the death was one of the many things about human social dynamics that continued to mystify him.

Garrus dismissed the directory and hissed in frustration. Liara hadn't seemed surprised or angry that Shepard was working for Cerberus, so that clearly wasn't an issue for her. She had changed in the last two years and he wasn't sure he liked the results. He'd always thought she could stand a little more backbone but threatening to flay people was a bit much. He wasn't satisfied with her flimsy excuses and mysterious "debts", there had to be more she wasn't telling them.

Well, he wasn't going to be put off so easily. Garrus stormed back up the stairs to Liara's office and blew past her assistant's' attempts to stop him in a storm of righteous indignation.

Liara looked up from the display on her desk, startled by his reappearance. "Garrus, what.."

"Cut the crap, Liara," he growled and slapped a palm on her desk. "Shepard may have bought your story but I worked for C-Sec long enough to know when someone is holding out on me."

Liara's expression darkened but he wasn't interested in listening to any more excuses. "You were there when the Normandy was destroyed," he said. "The Collectors did that. You know what we're up against. Maybe you want to sit in your comfortable office and ignore the threat like the Council.."

"You have no idea, Garrus" Liara said, her voice low and dangerous. She rose from her seat and leaned over the desk with her hands flat on its surface. "You have no idea the lengths I've gone to.. Yes, I _was_ there. Everything changed when she died."

"You've certainly changed, I can't believe you'd abandon her like this. Do you have any idea what it's costing her to have to work with Cerberus?"

Liara flinched as his barb struck home. She probably knew Shepard's history even better than he did, and they had both been horrified by their encounters with Cerberus.

"Cerberus is out there spreading rumors that Shepard has been working with them this whole time, poisoning all her friends against her. Anderson and the rest of the Council kicked her out of their offices, the Alliance disavowed her. D'you know what Ash said after we saved her ass from the Collectors on Horizon? She called Shepard a _traitor_."

Garrus sunk his talons into the desk leaving deep grooves on its surface and leaned towards her. "You said you had debts to repay? Well we owe her too, Liara. After she died I would have done _anything_ to have her back, I can't believe you.."

" _Would_ have done anything," Liara interrupted him. "I actually _did_ something. These debts are the result."

Garrus felt cold settle into his guts as he considered the implications of her statement.

"What, exactly, did you do, Liara?" he asked. He saw Liara's shoulders hunch slightly.

"Haven't you wondered how Cerberus got Shepard's body?" she asked carefully.

" _You_ gave Shepard's body to _Cerberus_?" he snarled.

"Was I supposed to let my friend die when someone offered a sliver of hope?" Liara pleaded. "They had intel on how I could find her, they said they could bring her back. Tell me you wouldn't have done the same thing."

Garrus rocked back on his heels, stunned. Would he have done the same thing? He had been quick enough to join up with Cerberus despite everything he knew about them.. He'd meant it when he'd said he would have done anything to have Shepard back, but his definition of "anything" clearly wasn't as inclusive as hers. He had seen the perverse experiments Cerberus called science. He wasn't sure he could have made the same choice. Liara had taken a huge risk, but it had paid off. It seemed petty to criticize with her decision now. He collapsed into the chair near Liara's desk, feeling slightly deflated as his anger drained away.

"I don't know, Liara. Maybe. Maybe not. Why didn't you tell Shepard this before?"

"I didn't know how she would feel when Cerberus restored her. If she'd feel betrayed or.." Liara shrugged uncomfortably. Garrus nodded.

"Well, for what it's worth, I'm grateful. Shepard found me in a tight spot."

"Is that when you were injured? Your face.."

"Maybe I'll tell you about it some day. Let's just say, if you happen to run into any information about the current location of a turian named Sidonis while you're hunting down the Shadow Broker, I would be _very_ interested." Garrus scratched his face where the plate covering his injury ended. "How _does_ the Shadow Broker come into this?"

"A month after the attack, I started hearing rumors that people were looking for Shepard on Omega. It seemed impossible, but I began to wonder if she had survived somehow. The Alliance had never recovered the wreckage of the Normandy, they never found her body. All we knew was what Joker had told us about Shepard being on the bridge just before it exploded. So I went to Omega to find out the truth. That's when I was contacted by Cerberus. They confirmed that Shepard hadn't survived, but told me the Shadow Broker had people working to recover her body on the Collector's behalf."

"What is it with them and Shepard?" Garrus wondered aloud. "They've got some weird fascination with her."

Liara smiled at Garrus ruefully. "I didn't trust Cerberus, but the Illusive Man can be very persuasive. I couldn't let the Collectors have her and if Cerberus could bring her back.. I had to take the body from him."

"Shepard's alive, so you obviously succeeded. What else is there to do?"

"I had a friend helping me, Feron. The Shadow Broker's people caught us. My friend didn't escape. I don't know if he's dead or being interrogated, but I need to find him. I owe him my life."

"What if we help you find him?" Garrus asked. "You could come with us while we look. You haven't seen the people Cerberus has Shepard recruiting. We could really use you."

Liara shook her head sadly. "I know the odds of you surviving your mission against the Collectors. I can't run off on a suicide mission if there's any chance of rescuing Feron."

Garrus shook his head. "We're going to lose people, no way around that. But don't underestimate Shepard. We'll come back."

Liara smiled. "I hope so, but I need to work. I need to find leads, trace information. I can't do that on the Normandy. I'm sorry. Keep her safe, Garrus. Please?"

Garrus got to his feet. "I will. Promise."

"Are you going to tell her?" Liara stood as she asked, wringing her hands slightly.

Garrus shook his head. "No, but you should. She deserves to know what happened to her. Cerberus has been pretty tight-lipped about the details, and it bothers her. You know how she is. Maybe it will ease her to know you were there looking out for her."

"I just.. couldn't let her go. Maybe it was wrong but.."

Garrus reached out and gently pried Liara's hands apart and held them. "She's not an easy person to let go of. If you change your mind about joining the mission, you know how to find us."

Liara's eyes glistened as they welled up with unshed tears. Garrus cleared his throat with embarrassment and dropped her hands. They both just nodded at each other silently and Garrus left without another word.

In the end, Garrus discarded all of the factors he had been considering in favor of proximity and picked the place closest to where the Normandy was docked that served both dextro and levo beverages. If he had to end up hauling Shepard back to her cabin again he didn't want to have to go very far. He wasn't sure it would fit Shepard's definition of fun, but it suited him just fine. There was a single bar, minimal waitstaff, and no dance floor. Which was a good thing, Shepard was a terrible dancer. Best to discourage the activity all together. It was a fairly small place, nothing fancy except the name. He thought _Eternity_ was a bit pretentious, but that was asari for you. They seemed culturally predisposed towards pretension. There was music playing but it was fairly sedate, more atmospheric than entertaining. The clientele was correspondingly sedate, mostly small groups engaged in quiet conversation, the exception being the group who inexplicably had an asari stripper dancing on their table. Garrus eavesdropped on their conversation with some amusement, it seemed to be a group of co-workers. The human was trying to explain the tradition of bachelor parties to the confused salarian guest of honor. Garrus was pretty sure the human was just using the salarian's reproduction contract as an excuse to hire the stripper for his own amusement.

Definitely more of a lounge than a club, the room was divided up into a few separate areas, each with a couple of tables and dimly lit with soft blue light. Garrus supposed it was to grant the patrons some privacy, but the dark corners of the lounge made him uncomfortable, the visibility was too poor. The bar area was more brightly lit in red, and the walls and partitions that divided up the rest of the room created a natural choke point for any traffic. There was an obnoxious human male haranguing the asari bartender when he arrived, so he took the seat farthest away to wait for Shepard. He fiddled idly with the box he'd brought with him while he waited. He had visited Nos Astra's shopping district to keep his mind off the fact that Shepard probably getting shot at without him. She never seemed to be able to go anywhere without someone trying to kill her.

He could really use a drink, but he didn't want to accidentally get drawn into the drama playing out at the other end of the bar. It was sort of entertaining to watch, though. The man was an odd character. His armor was very strange. At first glance it looked like the kind of high-quality armor that Kassa Fabrications produced for the Alliance special ops, it even had a red and white N7 stripe painted on one arm. After a second look Garrus could easily tell it was just a replica, and a really cheap replica at that. The stripe wasn't straight and the paint was flaking off. Garrus didn't think he would fool very many people with it, the asari bartender was certainly unimpressed. She stood listening to his tirade with her arms folded, growing visibly more annoyed with every passing second.

His attention was diverted from the scene when Shepard dropped into the seat next to him with an audible sigh.

"Everything was a lot simpler before Cerberus, you know? All these freelancers have their own agendas. It's exhausting."

Garrus chuckled at her aggrieved tone. "What a pain it must be when people won't drop everything the minute you ask them to face certain doom."

Shepard scowled at him then looked around the bar. "Could you have possibly picked a quieter spot?"

Garrus shrugged. "I knew you'd make trouble wherever we went, so I thought I should give you as few targets as possible."

"I suppose I've had enough excitement for today anyway. Now is the time for drinks."

"Good luck with that," Garrus groused. "You'll have to get past the guy at the bar."

"You think I can't take him?" Shepard craned her head to look.

The man in the shoddy armor had grown even more agitated as they talked and he shouted loudly enough that they could hear him over the ambient noise.

"You're really holding out on me?" he yelled. "I'm a man on the edge! I have nothing to lose!"

The bartender rolled her eyes. "Uh-huh."

The man pointed at her belligerently and continued his tirade. "I'll do anything to get the job done! I'll go all the way without a second thought!"

"Oh, shit," Shepard said and stood up. "Let's get out of here. Now."

"What the hell?" Garrus asked, but Shepard just pulled him to his feet and tried to tow him towards the entrance.

"You want to see how far I'll go?" the man said. He started pacing in a tight circle in front of the bar, yelling at all of the patrons indiscriminately now. "I learned how to shove a gun in people's faces from…" he trailed off as his eyes fell on Shepard still trying to herd Garrus away.

"Commander Shepard?" he asked, dumbfounded. Garrus watched with great interest as Shepard pretended she hadn't heard him. Garrus looked more closely at his face and realized he was sort of familiar. The man's face lit up with a huge smile and he waved to her enthusiastically.

"Shepard? Is it really you? It's me, Conrad Verner! We met on the Citadel? I wanted to become a Spectre?"

Shepard froze and let out an almost inaudible sigh. She dredged up the most strained, insincere smile he'd ever seen on her face and turned back towards Conrad.

The bartender looked from Conrad to Shepard and her eyes narrowed. "Hey, if you know this idiot can you rein him in before I slap his ass with a singularity?" she asked.

The bartender's comment seemed to remind Conrad of what he'd been doing and he resumed the tough guy act that he had been playing so unconvincingly.

"Oh, uh, and then you shoved a gun in my face!" He pointed at Shepard aggressively. Garrus suddenly remembered Conrad. He was some sort of crazy fan of Shepard's, they'd run into him a few times while they'd been hunting Saren. He didn't remember Shepard shoving a gun in Conrad's face though. He looked at her, hoping she would confirm his memory. Shepard was frowning sharply and opened her mouth to speak but she was forestalled by Conrad's frantic "play along gesture." Shepard folded her arms and scowled at him, but she didn't contradict his version of events.

"You showed me what it meant to be truly extreme," Conrad said loudly, clearly for the benefit of the listening bartender. "I learned that lesson well."

Shepard smiled apologetically at the bartender. The asari appeared to decide that Shepard had the situation well in hand and went back to her work, but she kept one eye on Conrad. Conrad turned his back on her and smiled ingratiatingly at Shepard before leaning one elbow against the bar with an exaggerated casualness.

"So you're alive, huh? I hear it goes like that in the biz. Why don't you sit back and watch how it's done. I've got some asses to kick."

It was all Garrus could do to keep from snickering. He leaned down to speak quietly in Shepard's ear.

"Yeah, Shepard. Let Conrad show us how it's done in 'the biz'."

Shepard elbowed him sharply in the side, or she would have if he hadn't been wearing armor. Her jab ended up being completely ineffectual and he couldn't stop the snicker this time. She turned to glare at him but since he was so close he could see that she was biting in the inside of her cheeks to keep from smiling. She turned back to Conrad, and the frown when she took in the red and white stripe on his armor wiped away all traces of her amusement. She asked, without quite masking her exasperation, "Conrad.. Why are you acting like me?"

"What are you, crazy? l'm nothing like you!" Conrad had the nerve to sound indignant. "I'm not a Spectre working for the Council! I'm on my own, backed only by my wits and my nerves! No rules, no laws, just whatever it takes to get the job done." Conrad folded his arms and looked away. "I'm not like you at all."

Was the man actually _pouting_? He certainly wasn't anything like Shepard, but not for the reasons _he_ thought. Shepard shut her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Conrad, do you have any actual combat training?"

Conrad waved his arms dramatically. "I'm saving the galaxy! I don't have time for training. You were a big jerk, but you saved the galaxy and showed the other races that humans mattered.." Conrad's voice trailed off and grew subdued. "Then you died. The galaxy needed someone like you, Shepard. We all did. I had to do something."

Garrus couldn't believe it, but he was actually starting to feel a little sorry for the guy. Shepard must have been feeling a little sorry too because she just sighed and asked, "So you just wander the galaxy righting wrongs?"

"Hey, don't say it like that!" Conrad pouted. "I talk to people, you know? Ask them if they have problems that only I can solve. You'd be surprised how many people are just waiting for someone to talk to them."

"Why were you yelling at the bartender?"

Conrad looked around suspiciously and dropped his voice. "This place is actually a front for a red sand dealer. I need the deed to take it over to crack the ring!"

He hadn't been quiet enough to prevent the asari from overhearing him. "What?" she asked. "Who the hell told you that?"

Conrad tried to play it cool. "The owner of that weapon's dealer near the carport. She's an undercover cop! She told me about it when I introduced myself."

"Listen, crap for brains," the bartender sneered. "First, we don't sell red sand. Second, red sand is legal on Illium, you just need a license!"

Shepard muttered under her breath. "Dammit, Conrad.."

Then her face froze as some thought occurred to her. Adopting a serious tone she said, "Listen, this sounds like a really dangerous operation."

"What?" the bartender said looking at Shepard like she was now the crazy one. Shepard waved the asari off, and put both her hands on Conrad's shoulders. "Let me take it from here. You could be killed if you pursue this, and I would feel terrible if anything happened to you." Her voice oozed sincerity. Garrus _almost_ believed her.

But Conrad ate it up. He nodded eagerly as she spoke.

"I didn't know.. I.. I can't risk you worrying about my safety," he said. "I'll stop pretending to be something I'm not. But thanks for letting me help, at least for a little while."

Despite his brave words his head drooped a little and there was a sad, forlorn expression on his face.

"You were a big help, Conrad. I'd never have known about this ring of criminals without you." She gave his shoulders a little shake for emphasis.

"Really?" he asked in a small, hopeful voice.

"Really." Shepard smiled at him. "You did a great job, Conrad. Now please, go home."

"Can do. It's really good to have you back, Shepard." He raised his arms as if he was going to hug her but she quickly dropped her hands from his shoulders and offered one to shake instead. Conrad walked out straight and proud, but far less cocky than he'd been before.

Garrus just shook his head. "You let him off pretty easy."

Shepard took a seat at the bar and rubbed her forehead. "Conrad's an idiot, but.. He just wants to help. There are enough people in the galaxy who wouldn't even bother to lift a finger for anyone else. I just didn't have the heart to crush him."

The bartender put a couple of drinks on the bar in front of Shepard and said, "Thanks for dealing with that crazy guy. Saves me from having to beat him to death with his own spine. Makes the other customers nervous."

"Some places charge extra for that kind of entertainment," Garrus drawled.

The asari laughed at that and replied, "I'd certainly enjoy it, but then my father was a krogan. Let me know if I can get you anything else."

Garrus retook his seat and picked up one of the drinks. He sniffed it inquisitively. "What do you think she brought us?"

"Hell if I know," Shepard said and tossed it back in one gulp. She sucked in a breath and shook her head vigorously. "Whatever it is, it's got some kick" she managed to wheeze out.

Garrus took a much less ambitious swig of his drink and hummed in approval. "Not bad."

Shepard gestured for another drink and the asari slid another one down the bar to her. This one Shepard nursed more slowly. Her eyes fell on the box Garrus had resumed fiddling with idly and raised an eyebrow. "What's that?"

"Oh," Garrus looked down at the box, suddenly feeling a little self-conscious. What was the human protocol on gifts? He should have thought this through more carefully. Too late now. "I uh, well I had some time to kill and I.. got you something." He slid the box towards her.

Shepard put her drink down in surprise. "For me?" She picked up the box and opened it. Nestled inside the packing material was a model Alliance cruiser.

"Well, you didn't have one in your collection," he said.

Shepard took it out of the box carefully and turned it over in her hands, examining all the details. Garrus leaned over her shoulder to point at the front of the replica. "I'm impressed with their accuracy, some of the cheaper models don't include all of the little weapon ports."

She glanced at his face and away again quickly. He thought her pale skin grew little redder than usual. Maybe it was just the red light illuminating the bar. But then she chuckled a little ruefully.

"I grew up on a series of naval vessels," she said, her voice quiet. He had to lean in close to catch her words over the music. "After I joined the Alliance it was Jump Zero, Arcturus and another series of naval vessels.. there's never been enough room for unnecessary personal items. I know it's silly but I always wanted these as a kid and now.." She trailed off with a tiny shrug. Garrus was shocked to realize that Shepard was _embarrassed_. He nudged her shoulder playfully with his til she looked at him.

"The shop downstairs has a few more if you're interested."

"Maybe later." She slowly smiled at him. It was the same odd smile from earlier. It was even more discomfiting this time around.

"But first," she finally said, "We drink."

"Agreed."

He clinked his against hers, glad to be back to a straight-forward activity. The protocol for getting drunk was pretty much universal among all alcohol-ingesting species. Drinking he could do.

"She actually tried to bribe you?" Garrus asked.

"Of course she did. Nassana thinks everyone has a price," Shepard drawled.

Garrus shook his head in disbelief and the movement was enough to upset the delicate balance he was maintaining between his wobbly gait and the packages he was carrying in one arm. Shepard had cleaned out the souvenir kiosk of all it's model ships, as well as acquiring a few new fish for the tank. It had probably been a bad idea to go shopping _after_ the alcohol. In their current addled state it had seemed perfectly reasonable to buy so many items, until they realized that meant they had to carry them all back to the ship.

Garrus staggered and Shepard grabbed his free arm to steady him. He narrowed his eyes at the innocent smile on her face. She had an armful of packages as well but she wasn't listing quite as badly, despite having consumed the same amount of alcohol. He had a new respect for the potency of Doctor Chakwas' favorite drink if it could incapacitate someone with Shepard's apparently prodigious alcohol tolerance.

Shepard curled her arm around his and pressed her shoulder against his to brace him as they resumed their meandering pace towards the Normandy. Though he'd regained his balance Shepard showed no indication that she was going to drop his arm. He decided his dignity could tolerate a little assistance if it meant no more stumbling. Besides, it was rather nice walking with her like this. It had been a long time since he just walked with a friend, no one trying to kill him, nowhere pressing to be. He let the glare relax from his face and he hummed a little in contentment. Shepard's face swum in and out of focus in his inebriated state. He thought he saw some expression flicker across her features but his brain was too fuzzy to make sense of it. He looked up at the windows overhead, the nighttime Nos Astran vista was impossibly beautiful. The buildings glowed with an ethereal light and the hover cars were reduced to little more than lights flickering swiftly through the gloom.

"Uh, anyhow, Nassana never even saw Thane come out of the ducts." Shepard whistled appreciatively at the memory. "He killed her three guards before she even turned around. She was dead before she saw him coming. I've never seen anyone so quick, or make killing so graceful. He's definitely the oddest assassin I've ever met."

Garrus felt some of his good mood souring a little at the admiration in her voice. "Oh? What's so strange about him?" he asked.

"He was so gentle with her after he delivered the killing shot. And when he was done, he prayed."

"He prayed for Nassana? Doesn't sound like she deserved it."

"No, he was praying for himself, actually. 'Prayers for the Wicked,' he said. I wouldn't have expected an assassin to be so spiritual, and he was concerned with the innocent people in the Dantius Tower. I found several groups of workers that Nassasa's guards would have killed except that Thane killed the guards first, left the workers alone. He's interesting. Cerberus offered him the same ridiculous sum they used to entice Zaeed, but Thane's coming for free. He says he doesn't care that it's a suicide mission."

"Really?" Garrus said with disbelief. "That would be a first."

He felt the movement of Shepard's shrug through the arm wrapped around his.

"He's dying," she said, her voice solemn. "He wants to do something to help people on his way out."

"So he's a noble assassin."

"Speaking of noble, you should meet Samara. I can't describe her, she's so.." Shepard fell silent as she groped for words. "Unshakable. Serene. She's very old, normally I can never tell with asari but Samara's eyes.. You can almost see how much she's seen. I like them both already," she admitted.

Garrus hmmmed uncertainly. "Well, they can't be any worse than who we've got already."

Shepard laughed. "So true. We should get back, make sure no one has killed each other while we've been gone." She wrapped her arm a little more tightly around his and pulled him along.


	7. A Proportional Response

The Normandy stayed docked at Nos Astra for more than a week while Shepard had some new ablative plating installed on the hull. Jacob had obtained a new state of the art design through some of his old contacts within the Alliance Corsairs. The new version had been designed after the destruction of the SR1 so starkly demonstrated their vulnerability to the weapons the Collectors could bring to bear. It would take awhile to reconstruct the hull, and that justified an extended enough stay to allow the crew to take some shore leave. Most of them, anyhow. Shepard confined Jack and Grunt to the ship. Jack was a wanted criminal in most sectors of known space, and Grunt was simply too unpredictable to be allowed out without a chaperone.

Garrus and Shepard made another excursion to Eternity, and they even managed to coax Liara out of her office. For the space of one evening the three of them pretended that the last two years hadn't happened. They didn't talk about Collectors or Shadow Brokers or vigilantes. And thankfully, there were no further Conrad Verner sightings.

Not everyone went ashore solely for recreation. Miranda and Shepard quietly disappeared together for nearly a full day and when they returned there was new damage to Shepard's gear. Shepard gently refused to share any of the details with Garrus afterward, much to his consternation. She stated only that Miranda's business was personal, and that she had needed help taking care of it. Garrus supposed it was good that Miranda trusted Shepard enough to ask for her help. Their icy and suspicious relationship had thawed to a grudging, mutual respect.

Shepard also helped Liara acquire some data she wanted. Shepard was quiet about the details of that trip as well, but it was a more pensive silence than a secretive one. Garrus hoped that meant Liara had taken the opportunity to confess to Shepard about the Shadow Broker's deal with the Collectors and her own involvement with Project Lazarus.

Once all their business on Nos Astra had been concluded, they were left with the fact that the Illusive Man, despite his vast resources and wide information network, still hadn't managed to learn anything new about the Collectors, their plans, or how to traverse the Omega-4 Relay. All they could do was wait. Garrus was really, really bad at waiting, but Shepard was even worse. Every report of another colony being attacked would send her prowling for something tangible she could do. She wasn't particularly inclined towards engineering work, but that didn't stop her from trying to help Ken and Gabby, who were always tinkering with the ship's systems, trying to wring every last bit of performance out of her. Mostly she was just underfoot, and they eventually had to ban her from Engineering entirely. She was much better at helping Jacob maintain the stockpiles of weapons. The two swapped stories of their former careers in their respective branches of the Systems Alliance while they worked. Jacob had become disaffected with the military bureaucracy after the first geth attack on Eden Prime. He was still a soldier in his heart, and Shepard found an unexpected kinship with Jacob over his distrust of Cerberus' more ruthless tendencies.

The Illusive Man had done his homework on Shepard during Project Lazarus and he knew he shouldn't just leave her to her own devices. Cerberus had plenty of work to go around, and he was canny enough to know exactly what sort of work would suit her best. To Garrus' cynical eye, the missions seemed to be carefully selected so as not to be ethically troubling to Shepard's sense of duty to the Alliance. Shepard may have been publicly disavowed, but she still considered herself an Alliance officer, and she wouldn't have allowed herself to be used in any way she that thought was counter to Alliance interests.

The crew also took advantage of the lull to take care of personal business. Everyone was realistic about their chances of surviving the mission. They had no idea what they would find on the other side of the Omega-4 Relay. Staring at almost certain death tended to make people more reflective about the loose ends in their lives. Shepard liked to grumble about everyone's competing agendas but she was also sensitive about the sacrifice they were being asked to make. Mercenaries, assassins and criminals couldn't be asked to give their lives out of a sense of _duty_ so Shepard was careful to keep her grumbling out of their hearing and to fulfill the requests she could. She wanted their focus on the Collectors, not on unfinished business.

Between the work Cerberus was assigning them and the personal demands of the eclectic group of specialists, Shepard had a rigorous training regime for integrating them into a efficient squad. Most of the people Shepard recruited were generally accustomed to working on their own and it took some time to adjust to taking orders. If you'd asked him at the outset, Garrus wouldn't have been sure it was possible to integrate such a diverse group of individuals. But by now he knew better than to underestimate Shepard, and it wasn't long before she had molded them into a terrifyingly deadly team. She wasn't a miracle worker, she couldn't get everyone to _like_ each other, but the more the team integrated on the field, the more the personal tensions between missions dissipated. Whatever misgivings they had about working for Cerberus were put to rest when they grew to trust Shepard's leadership. And eventually, the Cerberus crew stopped pointedly ignoring all the non-human specialists. Most of them still didn't like aliens generally, but they considered the ones on the Normandy _their_ aliens.

A few weeks after leaving Illium, Garrus received an encrypted holo-message keyed to his personal omni-tool. He was a little surprised to see Liara's face appear when he initiated playback. Liara must have become much more paranoid if she was applying such strict encryption to personal messages.

"Garrus," Liara's recorded image said, "I hope this message finds you in time to be useful. The last time we spoke, you mentioned a turian named Sidonis."

Garrus' breath quickened. His anger at Sidonis was as fresh now as it had been when he'd first discovered the betrayal. He managed to push it to the back of his mind most of the time and focus on the present, but it was a constant companion and gnawed at his peace of mind.

"I couldn't find much on him, he seems to have been as much of a ghost as you were for the last two years," Liara continued wryly, "But I already had a VI programmed to search for all the known Shadow Broker agents who might appear in any of the video feeds I've managed to get access to, so it was simple to add Sidonis to the list. A few days ago the VI found an image of a turian matching Sidonis on the Citadel. The contacts I have there were able to confirm that Sidonis had arrived at the Citadel, but they weren't able to verify his current wherebouts. However, I think I know why. In the image Sidonis was speaking to someone known to be an associate of someone called Fade. Fade specializes in getting people new identities."

The anger churning in Garrus' gut grew as he listened to Liara's message. Her information was several days old at this point and if Sidonis had been dealing with someone who was able to help him disappear, his window to find him was closing, fast. Once he left the Citadel with his new identity, he would be nearly impossible to trace.

"I'm forwarding you the names of several of my agents on the Citadel. Please be discrete about using them, but they should be able to help you broker a meeting with Fade. Goddess bless, Garrus."

Liara's image froze and then winked out as playback finished.

Shepard frowned when he played the message for her in the privacy of her cabin. He couldn't watch it again himself, instead he watched the fish swimming lazily in her enormous fish tank, trying to calm his urge to pace the room. He wanted to be gone immediately, to go after anyone who could lead him to Sidonis.

As the message finished again he turned to see Shepard looking at him intently.

"Sidonis is the one who betrayed your team?" she asked.

"Yes," Garrus gritted out, his voice tight. "I know a trip to the Citadel isn't part of the plan, but I have to get there soon if I want to find Sidonis."

"What are you planning to do when you find him?"

"You humans have a saying. An eye for an eye, a life for a life," Garrus growled out the words. "He owes me ten lives. I plan to collect."

Shepard folded her arms, her mouth twisting as she asked, "You sure that's how you want to play it?"

"I'm sure," he said shortly.

Her frown deepened. She wasn't pleased with his response. He had anticipated her disapproval, but he didn't have time for it. "I don't need you to agree with me, but I'd like your help."

She just looked at him for a long moment. "Where do we find Fade?" she finally asked.

Garrus relaxed slightly as she acquiesced. "I've already used Liara's contacts to get me a meeting. We're supposed to go to a warehouse near the Neon Markets, down on Zakera Ward."

Shepard turned away from him to bend over her desk and tap out a few commands on her console. She read over some information on the screen briefly. "Everything else can wait for a bit."

"Thanks, Shepard," he replied. She still had the frown on her face and he found the weight of her disapproval uncomfortable. That discomfort was no match for his rage. He didn't care if her help was grudging as long as he had it.

Garrus stepped from the rapid transit shuttle and into the familiar hubbub of the Citadel wards. He hadn't been stationed in Zakera Ward, but a security checkpoint was a security checkpoint; they all looked the same. It was almost like coming home again, but he had a sense of disconnection too. He hadn't called the Citadel home for years. No matter how familiar the silvery metal walls and the familiar ambient mix of cool blue and garish red neon, everything was different now. When he spotted Shepard waiting for him a few feet away, Jack was with her. She was looking around with her customarily bored expression but Garrus knew her well enough to recognize the dangerous glint in her eyes.

"You really think bringing her along is a good idea?" he asked Shepard and jerked his head, indicating Jack.

"She promised to be a very good girl," Shepard said and looked meaningfully at Jack. "Didn't you, Jack?"

"Hey, I can play nice," Jack said with the least convincing fake smile he'd ever seen.

"We're trying to _avoid_ C-Sec attention right now," Garrus said. "If we attract too much attention, he'll spook, Fade's a criminal."

"So is Jack," Shepard pointed out wryly. "If he knows who she is, she gives us a little more credibility. If not, she gives us some extra muscle without _looking_ threatening. For all I know, Fade knows you're coming and we're walking into an ambush."

Garrus couldn't argue with that. Shepard had a point. Even though he was a _former_ C-Sec officer he would probably be viewed with suspicion if he were recognized. Shepard's status as a disavowed Alliance officer wasn't helpful since she was still a Spectre, so Jack was probably a lot more convincing.

"My Spectre status has more weight here than it did in the Terminus," Shepard continued. "I know the C-Sec commander of Zakera ward, Commander Bailey. He won't give us any trouble."

She lowered her voice, "Besides, I didn't feel like leaving Jack and Miranda alone together just now. The Normandy might not be there when we got back."

Jack and Miranda's antagonistic relationship had come to a head after Jack's explosive trip back to the Cerberus facility she had been raised in on Pragia. The two had actually started a biotic fight in the cargo bay and only Shepard's timely intervention had kept Jack from tearing the ship apart.

Pragia had been an emotionally harrowing experience for everyone. The abuse Jack had suffered as a child had been appalling, and Miranda was frustratingly unapologetic about Cerberus' role there. The facility had been tasked to research ways to enhance the potential of human biotics, but Miranda claimed the extreme abuse of the children test subjects had not been sanctioned by The Illusive Man. Rogue scientists doing appalling, "unsanctioned" science seemed to be a recurring theme with Cerberus. The organization was designed to keep everything compartmentalized, lack of transparency allowed bad behavior to flourish, and the results it often garnered meant it was actually rewarded. Garrus had been all too happy to help Jack blow that facility to pieces. He could completely understand Jack's need to try and purge her pain with fire. It seemed to actually do her some real good, she had been much calmer since, and she stopped trying to pick fights with the rest of the Cerberus crew. Or maybe it was just seeing her pain validated by Shepard's anger more than the explosion. She still loathed Miranda, the "Cerberus cheerleader" but she had come around to almost liking Shepard.

Jack bounced on her toes restlessly. "Let's gooo already. This is boring."

Shepard didn't react to Jack's whining, her attention diverted by something over her left shoulder. Garrus turned to see what she was looking at, but it was just one of the copious holo-ad terminals. They were everywhere in the busy port, and in every other commercial district on the Citadel. Garrus had gotten so used to them shouting at him over the years that he didn't even register their presence anymore, they were just part of the background noise of life on the Citadel. The one nearest to him had pinged his ID and was showing him an ad targeted to him specifically.

"Garrus Vakarian, it's been two years since you've had a job. Isn't it time you rectified that?"

The one Shepard was staring at was displaying the image of a woman wearing a black hood over her head, only the lower half of her face visible, her eyes glinting with some sort of implants in the shadow. The voice that emanated from the ad cheerfully cajoled, "Commander Shepard, enter the password and receive a free gift."

Garrus wasn't sure what it was about the ad that had attracted Shepard's attention. The woman's attire was odd, but nothing about the message itself seemed interesting.

The image of the woman winked out and was immediately replaced with another one, taken from only a slightly different angle and asked, "Got problems with Collectors? Try Kasumi's credit service."

Now the ad had his attention as well. There wasn't anything in Shepard's public records about the Collectors, this ad shouldn't have known to mention them.

"Just enter your password for a fabulous prize package worth millions of credits!" the ad entreated.

Shepard approached the ad terminal and the image on the holo-screen tracked her movement. The ads had a limited ability to react the environment, but adjusting the image on the screen relative to the movement of the target was _not_ one of the possibilities.

The image nodded genially to Shepard as she approached it and said, "Please tell me your password, Commander Shepard."

Shepard replied. "Silence is golden," she said.

"Good to finally meet you, Commander Shepard," the ad said. "Kasumi Goto. I'm a fan."

"Has Cerberus filled you in on the mission?" Shepard asked briskly.

Garrus finally realized the ad wasn't pre-recorded, it wasn't even an ad. The woman had hacked one of the ad terminals and hijacked it to display a live video feed. Garrus was pretty impressed, there were _a lot_ of security measures in place to prevent this sort of hacking. He looked around surreptitiously to see if he could determine where the broadcast was coming from. The woman could see Shepard, that much was clear, but since the terminals weren't equipped with cameras, it wasn't a two-way feed. She had to be somewhere nearby.

"Actually, I'm shocked they didn't come to see me sooner," Kasumi said to Shepard. "My fault for being hard to meet, I guess."

"What's with the password and the sneaking around? Are you in trouble or something?"

Kasumi smirked as she replied, "I'm the best thief in the business. Not the most famous. Need to watch my step to keep it that way." Then she shrugged. "I also needed to make sure this was all legit. And I have no doubts now—you're the real Commander Shepard."

Shepard folded her arms and smiled sardonically. "What makes you so sure?"

Kasumi gestured. "There's a certain.. aura around you. Like you've seen things no one else has. Even without knowing what you looked like, I knew it was you."

"What brought you to Cerberus?" Shepard asked.

"That's a bit of a story."

Garrus grimaced. Shepard always wanted to question people, but he didn't have time for this woman's life story, the appointment with Fade was fast approaching. He nudged Shepard impatiently and she scowled at him.

Kasumi must have seen their interaction because she said, "Short version? They were looking for me, so I trailed them for awhile to find out why. Turns out they were looking for someone to join you on an important mission .. And were offering a serious signing bonus. I had a thing I needed help with, so I made them a deal. And here we are."

"I assume this deal is something I should know about?" Shepard asked with a slightly rueful sigh. This was not the first time Cerberus had negotiated on Shepard's behalf without informing her of the terms of the agreement.

"Yeah, I guess it slipped their minds," Kasumi snarked. "I'm looking for my old partner's greybox. A man named Donovan Hock took it, and I'm planning to get it back."

Shepard glanced at Garrus and noted his increasingly agitated demeanor. "If that's what Cerberus promised you, we'll get it done."

"It'll be fun!" Kasumi said enthusiastically. "And if we're lucky, you won't even have to draw your gun. I've already gotten you some evening wear, though. You'll want to look presentable."

Suddenly the image on the ad terminal blinked out. "We should probably wrap this up," Kasumi said, her voice no longer issuing from the terminal but from somewhere overhead. Garrus whipped his head back to see a slight figure in black standing above them on the maintenance catwalks. He silently cursed himself for failing to look above them, mortified at such a basic mistake.

Jack's swearing wasn't silent in the slightest. "Fuck me!"

Kasumi snickered with superiority at their expressions. "You look pretty silly standing there talking to an advertisement." Her voice sounded different now that it was no longer mediated by the terminal's playback system. She gave them a jaunty wave and said, "See you on the ship, Shepard."

Kasumi turned and began to walk away. She'd only gone a few steps before electrical discharge flashed around her and she vanished. Garrus' keen eyesight was able to track the very slight visual distortion as she continued down the catwalk, but if he hadn't been looking right at her, he would never have noticed. He whistled appreciatively. "Damn, I want one of those."

Shepard just shook her head. "She'd better not use that on the ship," she grumbled. She turned and pushed her way through the crowd of people lined up in front of the customs counter. When one of the harried employees noticed Shepard bypassing the line she shouted after her, but Shepard continued on, ignoring her. The guard at the security door into the ward stepped into their path with an annoyed expression on his face.

"Ma'am, you can't bring weapons into the ward, please go back and.."

He stopped talking suddenly as the security scanner on his omni-tool chirped an alarm. From this angle Garrus couldn't read the text scrolling across the holo-screen, but the flashing Spectre logo was clearly visible. Shepard stood there and folded her arms, her face carefully bland. The man cleared his throat and smiled apologetically.

"Sorry for the inconvenience, ma'am," he said contritely and waved them through.

"Shit, Shepard. Running with you has perks," Jack said.

Shepard grimaced. "And downsides. Last time I had to convince security I wasn't actually dead." She nodded to Garrus and said, "Lead on. It's your show, Garrus."

The warehouse was on one of the lower levels of the Zakera commercial district. They walked through the ward, past the all the little shops and cafes. As they approached one of the restaurants the chef called out to them, "Irasshimase! Have you tried our ramen? It's an earth delicacy!"

Jack's paced slowed as she craned her head towards the stand. "Earth delicacy, huh?"

"Jack.." Shepard warned.

"Fuck, fine!" she pouted, but she followed them.

The lines of shops and cafes turned into non-descript warehouses the deeper they went into the ward, and the crowds thinned out. The closer they got to the appointed address, the more on edge Garrus felt. They were closer to finding Sidonis than he had ever been. He wasn't aware that he was flexing his talons restlessly until Shepard silently touched his hand. Garrus turned away from the concern on her face and indicated the warehouse a few doors down.

"This looks like the place. The forger's thugs should have some information."

Just outside the warehouse there was a human talking to a uniformed salarian. When they came into earshot they heard the human complain, "I just talked to him on the Wards Market. He sent me here! Come on! Why do I need a service order?"

The poor salarian seemed completely baffled. "The Wards Market? Why would you come to a Zakera Ward warehouse?"

"He said they were out of stock and I should go here," the human whined. "He didn't say anything about a service order!"

The salarian rubbed his forehead. "Without a service order I really can't help."

The human groaned in wordless frustration. These were not Fade's thugs, just some confused idiots. Garrus brushed past them and headed inside.

The interior of the warehouse was spare and utilitarian. There were stacks of crates and barrels against the walls and in the center of the room. Lounging against those crates were a pair of towering krogan mercenaries. Ah, these were the types of thugs he'd been expecting. As soon as they saw Garrus their casual postures turned aggressive and they prowled towards him. Garrus put his hand on his pistol and was about to draw it when he heard Shepard ask in a dubious voice, "Fade?"

She wasn't speaking to the krogan. Garrus looked, then had to tilt his head down to meet the helmeted face of a squat volus. His breathing apparatus hissed loudly in the echoing warehouse.

Shepard looked at Garrus and remarked, "He's not quite how I imagined him."

Volus were waist-high, wheezing, ball-like aliens with stubby limbs and little grace. It was almost impossible to take them seriously.

The volus sniffed loudly. "[ _hssss]_ Looks can be deceiving. So.. [ _hssss]_ which one of you wants to disappear?"

"I'd rather see you make someone _reappear,"_ Garrus said.

"Ah.. [ _hssss]_ " The volus shook his head, his pressure suit clicking metallically. "That's not [ _hssss]_ the service we provide."

Garrus drew his gun and aimed it at the little volus. The krogan mercs both drew their weapons in response. Shepard's mouth thinned into a tight line, but she just folded her arms and stayed silent.

"Make an exception," Garrus said, keeping his voice level. "Just this once."

"[ _HSSSS]_ Damn it. Quick," the volus turned to address the krogan mercenaries. "Shoot them! [ _HSSSS]_ " he ordered. "Shoot them you lumbering mountains!"

Beside him Shepard drew her pistol and Jack cackled. The glow of her biotic power sprang up around her body. Garrus kept his gun trained on the volus as he drew a second with his free hand. He used it to gesture towards the door. "Why don't you two find somewhere else to skulk?" he asked.

The two krogan looked them over, then exchanged a glance. The first krogan shrugged dismissively and the other nodded. They holstered their weapons and left the volus to his fate.

"Awww," Jack sighed.

"[ _HSSSS]_ Just like that?" the volus wheezed indignantly. "[ _HSSSS]_ You're not getting paid for this! [ _hssss]_ What's the point of hiring protection [ _hssss]_ if they won't protect you?"

Shepard ignored his complaints. "We're looking for someone," she said. "A client of yours."

"[ _hssss]_ Not mine, I'm not Fade. I just work for him. [ _hssss]_ Sort of."

Shepard rolled her eyes. "I knew it."

Garrus crouched until he was eye to eye with the diminutive volus. "Well then maybe you'd like to tell us where to find him."

"[ _hssss]_ Yes, yes. Of course," the volus said He's in the factory district, [ _hssss]_ works out of the old prefab foundry."

Garrus looked back over his shoulder at Shepard and said, "I know the place."

"Uh.. [ _hssss]_ He's got a few mercs there. Blue Suns." The volus snorted, a ridiculous tinny sound. "[ _hssss]_ Harkin thinks they're protecting him."

"Harkin?" Shepard asked incredulously. "How the hell did _Harkin_ end up being Fade?"

"Well, [ _hssss]_ he got fired from C-Sec a while back. He used his knowledge of C-Sec and their systems to help a few people disappear. Then he made himself disappear, and Fade was born. [ _hssss]_ So to speak."

"Interesting," Garrus said impatiently. "But it changes nothing. We still need to find him before we can get to Sidonis."

"Well," Shepard said sweetly. "Let's go pay Harkin a visit."

"So I.. [ _hssss]_ I can go?" the volus asked hopefully.

"Sure, but if we don't find Harkin," Garrus said, and he gave the volus a little shove. "We'll be back for you."

"Oh," the volus said in a small voice. "[ _hssss]_ Good."

At the nearest rapid transit terminal they grabbed a shuttle to take them to the factory district. Garrus slid into the driver's seat while Jack climbed in and sprawled across the backseat. Shepard took the front passenger seat with a troubled look on her face. Garrus clenched and unclenched his talons on the controls convulsively as he piloted the craft, leaning slightly forward in his seat, as if he could get them to their destination through sheer force of will. Keeping to the regulated speed felt unbearably slow.

"So," Shepard mused, "Harkin's finally gone completely bad. Why am I not surprised?"

"He was always a pain in the ass," Garrus growled. "But I'm in no mood for his games."

"Who the fuck is Harkin and why do you two know him?" Jack asked from the back.

"We worked together in C-Sec," Garrus replied. "Sort of. He was pretty lousy at it—took bribes, roughed up suspects."

Jack rolled her eyes. "Yeah, show me a cop who doesn't."

Garrus bristled at the slight but Jack just shrugged impertinently. "That explains you, Garrus, what about the Queen of the Girl Scouts over there."

Shepard eyed Jack curiously, not sure if that was an insult or a compliment. Jack shrugged again and said grudgingly, "Just doesn't sound like your style."

Shepard couldn't quite keep the smirk off her face. She nodded towards Garrus and said, "I met Harkin when I heard there was this turian hot-head investigating the same guy I was. He sounded like someone I should know."

Garrus' hand unclenched a little on the controls, remembering too. Joining up with the first human Spectre had been thrilling.

"No one else believed Saren had gone bad," Shepard went on. "Ambassador Udina suggested Harkin might be able to help me find him."

"And now, he's going to help _me_ find Sidonis." Garrus snarled. He looked down at the shuttle controls. Screw regulations. Garrus pushed the accelerator harder, past the designated speed and zipped around the slower shuttles in his way.

"You're getting tense, Garrus," Shepard noted quietly. The warmth of nostalgia had left her face and she was frowning again.

"Harkin may know why Sidonis wanted to disappear. If so, he knows why we're here and I don't want him tipping Sidonis off."

Shepard nodded thoughtfully. "What are you going to do to Harkin if he doesn't cooperate?"

"If he doesn't cooperate, I'll beat him within an inch of his life."

Shepard frowned. "Garrus.." she began.

"Sounds good to me," Jack interjected from the back.

"He's a real criminal now," he said, forestalling her complaint. "I _should_ just shoot him on sight. But I need him alive, so I won't do any permanent damage. Just enough to loosen his tongue."

"You don't need to hurt him to get what you want,"Shepard insisted.

"Where's the fun in that?" Jack asked.

"Don't worry," he said wryly. "Harkin's a coward. He'll talk long before I actually hurt him."

Shepard turned her head away from him to stare out the window at the rushing scenery. They were flying over the Presidium now, the lush greenery and waterways still a stunning sight on a space station. The silence that stretched between them was fraught, though Jack didn't seem to notice. She had her head pillowed on one arm, her feet pressed up against the window with her eyes half-closed. They passed over the embassies and headed into the wards again, nearing the factory district.

"You still planning to kill Sidonis when we find him?" Shepard asked, breaking the silence.

"That's the plan," he replied curtly, the bitterness inside him leeching into his voice. "It'll be quick and painless. Unlike everyone he betrayed, he'll be spared the agony of a slow death. It's more than he deserves, but as long as he's dead, I'll be satisfied."

"Will you?" she asked. "Garrus, do you really think killing Sidonis will make things right?"

Garrus shifted in his seat with agitation. "I know you don't like it, Shepard, but I have to do this."

"Is there no other way?" Shepard implored.

"Maybe, but this is personal." Garrus said, and hesitated. The disappointment her heard in her voice cut like a knife. He had been stewing over Sidonis' betrayal for months, going over the events over and over again. If there was another way, he couldn't see it. Sidonis had to die. It was the only just solution. Garrus shrugged off Shepard's reproach. "I'll be the one to pull the trigger and I'll live with the consequences."

Garrus slowed the shuttle's speed as they entered the factory district. The vehicles here were considerably larger and heavier than the transit shuttles and if there were a collision, their lighter vehicle wouldn't fare well. He spotted the factory he was looking for and alighted. There were half a dozen people moving around the entrance of the building, most of them decked out in Blue Suns armor. They halted their activities when the shuttle landed. Garrus, Shepard and Jack clambered out of the shuttle with their weapons drawn and the Blue Suns closed ranks around the unarmored man in their midst. Garrus felt a grim satisfaction as he recognized the balding human.

Shepard did too, because she pointed him out in the crowd. "There he is!"

Harkin gaped at Shepard for a moment in amazement. "Shepard?" he asked. "You're supposed to be dead!"

Shepard smiled grimly. "I get that a lot," she drawled.

Harkin looked at the weapons they hadn't holstered and started to back towards the door of the factory. "Don't just stand there," he ordered the mercenaries. "Stop them!"

Then he turned and ran, like the coward he was. Garrus swore as Harkin slammed the doors behind him and the Blue Suns rushed towards them.

"Run all you want, Harkin!" Garrus taunted. "We'll find you!"

He and Shepard both ducked behind the stacks of crates between them and the Blue Suns, but Jack just sauntered into the open space, ignoring all the guns trained on her.

"Hello, dead people!" she said, entirely too cheerfully. She clenched her fists and began to glow with biotic power. She raised her arms and pushed them forward together, releasing a huge shockwave as she did. It closed the distance between her and the mercs with a shuddering roar and smashed into them, sending the lot arcing through the air. Followed by several of the large crates. The horrible screams of the mercenaries were cut short when the crates landed on top of them with sickening crunches. Garrus and Shepard looked at each other, momentarily at a loss, the fight unexpectedly over. Jack chuckled darkly and kicked one of the feet sticking out from under the debris on her way to the factory door.

Inside was a maze of equipment and shipping containers. Cranes zipped overhead along a track carrying large slabs of metal from one part of the fabrication plant to the other. Garrus crept through the factory wondering if there were any more mercenaries waiting for them.

"Harkin's in here somewhere, I can smell him," he said.

As if he'd heard them, Harkin's voice came in over their comms, "Why don't you just turn around?"

Garrus swiveled his head around looking for a clue as to where Harkin would be hiding. Shepard tapped his shoulder and pointed upward. At the far end of the factory on the second story he saw a room with glass windows overlooking the factory floor. He could just make out a shape of a man moving away from the window.

"You sure?" he asked Shepard.

She nodded. "Cerberus made some improvements when they rebuilt me."

They must have improved her vision substantially if she could see that far away. He wondered how they'd done it, there were no visible changes to her eyes.

"Handy."

Shepard shrugged a little self-consciously, then drew his attention to the approaches. "There's two doors. I'll take one, he's bound to run to the other. You can cut him off. Jack, stay here and make sure any reinforcements he calls can't come in."

"Yes, ma'am." Jack gave Shepard a sarcastic salute.

Shepard and Garrus took a circuitous route in an attempt to keep Harkin with his bird's eye view of the factory from tracking their approach. They ducked under welding equipment and squeezed through the narrow gaps between shipping containers to keep the view obstructed. They split up when they finally reached the bottom story of the room Harkin was holed up in. Garrus moved stealthily into position and pressed his ear to door, listening for Shepard. After several long moments he heard Shepard's muffled voice from inside.

"Hey, Harkin.."

There was the sound of movement, then Harkin's voice, growing louder as he moved toward Garrus' hiding place. "You were close, but not close enough."

Garrus held his breath and tensed. The door hissed open and he stepped into the threshold. Harkin reared back in surprise and Garrus punched him in the face. Harkin gasped and reeled but had no chance to recover before Garrus grabbed him by the throat and slammed him against the nearest wall. Having Harkin writhe in his grasp was incredibly satisfying.

"So, Fade," he gloated. "Couldn't make yourself disappear, huh?"

"C'mon, Garrus," Harkin choked. "We can work this out. Whaddya need?"

Garrus leaned his face close to Harkin's. "I'm looking for someone."

A smarmy smile spread across Harkin's face. "Well," he said, "I guess we both have something the other one wants."

Garrus kicked him in the groin just to wipe that expression off his face. He loomed over Harkin as he collapsed to the floor in pain. He looked up and saw Shepard holster her weapon and frown at him, a subtle warning to watch himself. He lifted Harkin back to his feet and though the man remained doubled over and breathless with residual pain, he managed to stay on them.

"We're not here to ask favors, Harkin," Shepard said in a hard voice, playing along with his tactics.

"You don't say," Harkin coughed.

Garrus leaned in close. "You helped a friend of mine disappear. I need to find him."

Harkin rubbed the back of his head where it had struck the wall. "I might need a little more information than that," he complained.

"His name was Sidonis. Turian, came from the.."

"I know who he is," Harkin interrupted irritably. He stood up straighter and folded his arms. "I'm not telling you squat."

Garrus tensed, angry at his newfound spine. He started to move his arm to hit him when Shepard spoke, "Harkin, this doesn't have to be hard."

Her voice was bored but Garrus was pretty sure she was just trying to forestall any more violence. Garrus grew more irritated, they weren't going to get anywhere coddling Harkin.

A conclusion which was bourne out when Harkin snarked back at her, "Screw you. I don't give out client information, it's bad for business."

Garrus kicked Harkin viciously in the abdomen and he fell to the ground. Shepard glared at him but he wasn't going to let Harkin jerk him around on this. Garrus kicked him again to roll him onto his back, and put his foot on his throat. He applied just enough pressure to let Harkin know he was serious, but not enough to keep him from speaking. Shepard was wrong if she thought he was out of control. He knew exactly what he was doing.

"You know what else is bad for business?" Garrus asked, letting just a little more of his weight settle onto the foot he was grinding into Harkin's throat. Harkin emitted a strangled sound. "A broken neck!"

Harkin wrapped his hands around Garrus' leg and strained beneath him, trying to throw him off. He had no leverage so his efforts were pathetic and ineffectual. He finally gave in and managed to rasp out, "Alright, alright! Get off me!"

Watching Harkin squirm was too enjoyable. He had earned a little punishment for his earlier defiance, for his entire criminal enterprise. Garrus added just a bit more weight to Harkin's throat and watched his face turn red. He gurgled in terror and renewed his struggles to free himself, a little more weakly this time. Garrus felt a jerk on his elbow and he turned to see Shepard's face close to his, set into a severe expression. They locked eyes for a long moment while he kept his foot on Harkin and she kept her grip on his elbow. Whose side was she on anyways?

"Garrus.." She breathed his name so quietly only he would hear it, but the urgency in her voice was clearly audible. His head cleared just enough that he could see not just her anger but her fear. Was she afraid for him or was she afraid _of_ him? Either scenario was unpalatable, so he forced himself to relent, to take his foot off Harkin. Harkin immediately rolled onto his hands and knees, sputtering and sucking in air noisily. Shepard released her grip on Garrus silently and stepped away.

"Terminus really changed you, huh, Garrus?" Harkin grated.

Garrus shook his head. "No, but Sidonis.. opened my eyes." He jerked his head towards the comm terminal on the other side of the room. "Now arrange a meeting."

Harkin hesitated, Garrus gestured again more insistently.

"I'm going," Harkin sighed.

Harkin shuffled to the terminal and tapped a sequence of keys. He waited, eying Garrus nervously as he waited for the call to connect. Garrus leaned his back against the wall, feigning a casual pose. His temper was just barely leashed, but he didn't want to spook Harkin any further and encourage him to try something stupid. Shepard took up position next to him and pressed her shoulder against his. He sidled away.

"Yeah, it's me," Harkin said. Garrus glanced at the terminal screen but there was no image on it, and the voice that emerged was too scrambled to understand. "Fade" was smart enough to have encryption protocols that would obscure any communication to or from his terminals to prevent eavesdropping. He probably had a decryption protocol built into his translator.

"There's a chance your identity may be compromised," he said and paused, listening to the reply. "That's why I'm calling. I'm sending an agent. Where do you want to meet?" There was another pause while the person on the other end replied. Garrus tapped his foot anxiously and pushed himself off the wall. It was possible Harkin was sending him right into an ambush, but they'd know soon enough.

"Alright, he'll be there. Don't worry — I got it covered." Harkin terminated the call and turned back to Garrus, who moved towards him while he said, "It's all good. He wants to meet you out in front of Orbital Lounge. Middle of the day. So if our business is done, I'll be going.."

Garrus grabbed him by his shirt before he finished speaking and dragged him close. "I don't think so," Garrus growled. "You're a criminal now, Harkin."

Harkin flinched. "So what? You're just going to kill me?" he asked. "That's not your style, Garrus."

Garrus let him go with a little shove. "Kill you? No." Garrus pulled a gun out of its holster. "But I don't mind slowing you down a little."

The barrel of the gun tracked down as Garrus aimed it at Harkin's knee. Shepard lunged towards him and grabbed his arm, twisting it in time so that the bullet embedded itself in the ceiling instead of Harkin's extremity.

"You don't need to shoot him. He won't be able to hide from C-Sec now," she said.

Garrus shook his arm free roughly and glared at Shepard for several long breaths. She just returned his gaze levelly, her expression closed and unmoveable. It was the way she looked at people who were about to become obstacles. He resented her for how much it stung. But he took a step back and holstered his weapon.

"I guess it's your lucky day," he sneered at Harkin.

Harkin wiped the blood trickling from a cut over his eyebrow and spat, "Yeah, I hope we can do this again real soon."

Shepard pursed her lips, giving Harkin the same disgusted expression she would a bug, then she made a conspicuous show of turning on her heel and walking out the door. Garrus watched her walk away for a second, then he smashed his head hard into Harkin's smug face. The man collapsed like a sack of rocks and didn't stir as he left.

Garrus had to jog a few steps to catch up with Shepard. When he did she, raised an eyebrow questioningly.

"I didn't shoot him," he said, a little petulantly. He knew it had been childish, but it had felt really good.

Shepard just shook her head. "Come on," she said. "Let's move."

"Sidonis better be there," he warned her as they neared the entrance of the factory. "Or I'm coming back to finish the job."

They stopped, a little stunned when they saw the carnage Jack had wrought in their absence. Evidently Harkin had called for back up, based on the additional bodies in Blue Suns uniforms that littered the street, along with the still-sparking debris of some LOKI mechs.

"Anything interesting happen here?" Shepard asked.

"Nah," Jack replied insouciantly. "What about you guys?"

Shepard shrugged and looked at Garrus meaningfully. "Nothing worth talking about. Can I trust you to make it back to the Normandy without destroying half of the Citadel?"

Jack looked hurt. "Who, me?"

"Go right back to the ship, no detours, you understand?"

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever you say, Commander."

Garrus and Shepard retrieved the shuttle and took off again. The Orbital Lounge was in a different ward, but it wasn't a long trip. Garrus stewed in his agitation as Shepard piloted the craft, mulling over the encounter with Harkin. He may have gotten the information he needed but it had left a sour taste in his mouth. Maybe Shepard was right and C-Sec would pick him up, but it felt wrong just leaving him when they could've done more.

They reached the designated meeting spot about twenty minutes before they were due to meet Sidonis. Shepard landed the craft on the upper catwalks, a little way away from the entrance of the lounge. She leaned back in her seat and let out a breath, just waiting. Neither of them were the type to fill empty silence with small talk, but the wait wasn't a comfortable one. Garrus cast several sidelong glances at her, each more irritable than the last. Shepard wasn't squeamish, he couldn't figure out why she'd been so easy on Harkin.

"Harkin's a bloody menace," Garrus burst out, unable to suppress his anger any longer. "We shouldn't have let him go, he deserved to be punished."

Shepard frowned. "I'm getting a little worried about you, Garrus," she said. "You were pretty hard on Harkin. I expected you to play bad cop, but at the end there, you weren't playing. I can't believe you were going to _shoot_ him."

"You don't think he deserved it?"

Shepard glanced away from him then back. "It's just not like you," she said quietly.

"What do you want from me, Shepard?" he asked. He could hear the reproach in her voice and he didn't like it. "What would you do if someone betrayed you?"

"I'm not sure," she said with a shrug. "But I wouldn't let it change me."

"I would've said the same thing before it happened to me."

"It's not too late," she offered. "You don't have to go through with this."

"Who's going to bring Sidonis to justice if I don't? Nobody else knows what he's done. Nobody else _cares_."

Why didn't she understand? He had always backed her up, no matter what, but she was balking now. He shook his head. "I don't see any other options."

"Let me talk to him," she insisted.

Garrus leaned back in his seat and stared at the roof of the shuttle, tired of arguing with her. "Talk all you want, but it won't change my mind. I don't care what his reasons were, he screwed us.." Garrus clenched his fist. "He deserves to die."

Shepard reached out to touch his hand but he shifted it away. Her mouth thinned. "I understand what you're going through," she said. "But do you really want to kill him?"

"I appreciate your concern, but I'm not you," he said shortly.

"This isn't _you_ , either," she replied fiercely.

"Really?" Garrus was incredulous. "I've always hated injustice. You helped me when I wanted to track down Saleon, bring him to justice."

"That's right, and if he hadn't forced the issue, we would have _brought him in_ ," she said. "No one is forcing us to kill Sidonis. We could arrest him too."

Garrus shook his head violently. "He never pulled a trigger, he never broke any laws. But _he's responsible_. The thought that Sidonis could get away with this.." Garrus growled deep in his throat. "Why should he go on living when ten good men lie in unmarked graves?"

Shepard opened her mouth to protest but Garrus cut her off, "I'm sorry, Shepard. Words aren't going to solve this problem." He opened the shuttle door and began to climb out. "I need to set up," he said, then stopped when she grabbed his arm.

"What do you need me to do?" she asked.

"You're going to help?"

"We're a team, Garrus."

Garrus blew out a long breath, some of the anger leaving him. "Keep him talking and don't get in my way," he warned.

He looked around at the area, assessing its suitability for his purpose. The corridor below was brightly lit and crawling with people. Even this far above he was too exposed, all someone had to do was look up and they'd spot him. Then he noticed a narrow walkway that jogged off to the side, around some pipes and over to a maintenance duct. It was away from the lights of the corridor, just dim enough so he would be less visible, but still in sight of the meeting place.

"I can get a clear shot from over there," he said, pointing to indicate the position. "I'll let you know when he's in my sights. Give me a signal so I know you're ready, and I'll take the shot." Garrus checked the time and climbed out of the shuttle. "You better go, he'll be here soon," he said and shut the door. He stood and watched Shepard fly the shuttle down to the lower level before making his way over to his chosen sniper perch.

Garrus braced his rifle against the railing, extended the barrel, and settled in to wait. Through the scope he observed the scene below, the details on every person's face brought into sharp focus by the optics. But the digital reticle overlay displaying the crosshair, distance to target and other relevant information tended to make whatever he was viewing more abstract. He watched Shepard disembark the shuttle and stride with her distinctive gait towards the bustling entrance to the Orbital Lounge.

"Shepard," he asked over the comms, "Can you hear me?"

"Loud and clear," she said under her breath, looking around casually

He tracked away from Shepard and scanned the corridor, looking for Sidonis. Male human walking away: 20 meters; a pair of asari standing and talking: 30 meters; male turian seated, hunched over: 40 meters.. His hands clenched hard around the grips of his weapon. That was Sidonis. He felt a rush at seeing him for the first time since Omega. From this angle he was partially obscured by the chatting asari and there were a number of other people walking around behind him. He could probably make the shot, but if he didn't want to accidentally hit any bystanders then he needed Sidonis to move.

"All right. There he is," Garrus radioed to Shepard. "Wave him over and keep him talking."

Shepard beckoned to Sidonis from a less congested part of the corridor. Sidonis looked around nervously before getting to his feet to approach her. Garrus switched the optics into a higher resolution setting. He could see the nervous expression on Sidonis' face clearly now. But then Shepard stepped closer to Sidonis and all he could see was the back of her head.

"You're in my shot. Move to the side," he instructed.

"Listen, Sidonis. I'm here to help you," she said. Sidonis flinched at the mention of his own name.

"Don't ever say that name aloud," he said apprehensively.

"I'm a friend of Garrus'," she said. "He wants you dead, but I'm hoping that's not necessary."

Garrus hissed, hoping she wasn't about to do what he thought she was, that this was just the angle she'd decided to use to get his attention. Sidonis startled and shifted nervously from side to side. Shepard mimicked his motion, keeping herself solidly between Sidonis and the muzzle of his gun.

"Garrus?" Sidonis asked. "Is this some kind of joke?"

Garrus couldn't believe it. She was _trying_ to screw this up, screw him over.

"Dammit, Shepard!" he snarled. "If he moves, I'm taking the shot."

Garrus saw Shepard shift her head slightly in response to his voice. Sidonis noticed it too and must have realized what that gesture meant, because he started slowly backing away from her.

"You're not kidding, are you?" he asked with dawning horror. "Screw this, I'm not sticking around to find out. Tell Garrus I had my own problems."

Sidonis tried to turn and walk away. Just a few more steps and he would have a clear shot. Garrus held his breath and gently squeezed the trigger in preparation. Just a few more steps and this would be over.

Shepard lunged towards Sidonis and hauled him back towards her. "Don't move!" she hissed."

Sidonis tried desperately to shake off Shepard's grip, his voice rising in panic, "Get off me!"

"I am the only thing standing between you and a hole in the head."

"Fuck," Sidonis cursed, looking around wildly in panic. He knew Garrus' tactics well enough to know he probably didn't have a way out anymore.

"Look," he pleaded. "I didn't want to do it. I had no choice."

Garrus growled, "Everyone has a choice."

"They got to me," Sidonis said in a terrified rush, oblivious to Garrus' remark. "Said they'd kill me if I didn't help. What was I supposed to do?"

"Let me take the shot, Shepard, he's a damn coward!"

Shepard wasn't budging. "That's it? You were just trying to save yourself?" she asked, trying to coax more of the story out of him. As if there were any excuse he could offer to justify himself.

All the fight seemed to go out of Sidonis and he hung his head. "I know what I did," he said mournfully. "I know they died because of me and I have to live with that. I wake up every night sick and sweating. Each of their faces staring at me.. Accusing me."

The words rolled over Garrus and incited a series of conflicting emotions: satisfaction that someone who'd wronged him was suffering; grief for dead; and curiously, a slight pang of sympathy. He had the same dreams. They'd driven him to this. He tried to shake off the stew of emotions, they weren't part of his mission.

"I'm already a dead man," Sidonis continued. "I don't sleep. Food has no taste. Some days I just want it to be over."

"Just give me the chance," he promised.

Shepard turned and looked up to where she knew Garrus was holed up. She couldn't see him, but she knew he could see her. "You've gotta let it go, Garrus," she said, addressing him directly. "He's already paying for his crime."

"He hasn't paid enough," he countered. "He still has his life. My men.. They deserved better."

He couldn't let this go, he _wouldn't_ let him walk away. As long as he lived, Sidonis would be a loose end. As long as he lived, Garrus would also be haunted by the accusing looks of his dead, demanding justice.

"Tell Garrus," Sidonis started, then stopped and shook his head, heaving a resigned sigh."I guess there's nothing I can say to make it right."

"Look at him, Garrus," she entreated, gesturing to Sidonis. "He's not alive.. There's nothing left to kill."

He stared down at Shepard, the distance and the scope of his gun between them. The targeting overlay washed out the colors of her face, robbing it of some small measure of familiarity. His rage beat in his ears with the rhythm of his heartbeat, crowded his thoughts, forcing away everything except the urge to commit violence. The crosshair was centered on her head, 33 meters displayed beneath it.

 _One bullet would take them both out._

The ugly, unwelcome thought was so fleeting, but it rocked him back on his heels. Cold terror washed through him at the thought of her death, it quenched the rage boiling inside and left him feeling hollow.

After a long moment of radio silence, Shepard took one step to the side, giving him a clear shot, letting him make the choice. Sidonis didn't even flinch, he just stood there, limp and defeated, waiting for Garrus to end it.

Was killing Sidonis really justice? Or was he just trying to salve his own guilt? That hollow pit inside him was quickly filling up with shame. This wasn't him. Garrus lowered his rifle with shaking hands.

"Just.. Go," he said haltingly. "Tell him to go."

"He's giving you a second chance, Sidonis," Shepard said. "Don't waste it."

"I'll try, Garrus. I'll try to make it up to you somehow," Sidonis promised fervently, his voice raised as he tried to speak to Garrus, wherever he was. Then he turned to Shepard. "Thank you for talking to him."

Garrus watched them part and move away from each other. He kept watching until Sidonis melted into the crowd, likely never to be seen again. Was he disappointed or relieved? He'd spent so much time planning to kill Sidonis, but when he'd had the chance he just let him walk away. Had he chosen to do the right thing, or had he simply lacked the spine to follow through?

When Shepard returned with the shuttle, he couldn't quite bring himself to look at her. He broke down his sniper rifle mechanically, his limbs feeling leaden and slow. His emotions were a disquiet jumble. He could practically hear the question Shepard wasn't asking him. She just waited for him to finish with uncharacteristic patience, but he had no words to offer her. He was still shaken by the lengths his anger had nearly driven him to. But he harbored an ember of resentment for her interference. She hadn't helped him she'd promised. It felt like another betrayal.

"I know you want to talk about this," he finally said. "But I don't. Not yet. Let's get going. I need some distance from this place."

She nodded slowly and replied, "I'm with you."

"Are you?" He looked at her sharply, unable to resist lobbing the barb. He climbed into the shuttle and got behind the controls. She quickly climbed in after him.

"Always, Garrus,"

He studied her face for a moment. She didn't seem repentant in the slightest, but there was no smugness or superiority in her expression either. He lifted off and flew them back to the Normandy's berth. He really didn't want to talk to her yet, he hadn't sorted everything out yet. But the words were piling up in the silence between them, threatening to escape.

"You said you were going to help," he finally said. "You said, we were a team."

"I did help. I helped you avoid doing something you'd regret later."

"That wasn't your call, Shepard," he fired back. "It was my decision."

"Look, I know it didn't go the way you planned, but I think it's for the best."

He snorted with annoyance. Sometimes her moral superiority was really grating. He shook his head and said, "I'm not so sure."

"Give it time," she promised.

"Yeah," he said bitterly, not really believing her. "Maybe that'll be enough."

Garrus brooded silently the whole way back to the Normandy. Shepard kept glancing at him sidelong from her seat in the shuttle, but she didn't intrude on his black mood. They walked side by side through the jostling crowd at the docking bay, their thoughts their own. The silence between them grew steadily more oppressive the longer it went on. By the time they reached the Normandy's berth it was almost excruciating. Shepard keyed in the re-boarding sequence a little too forcefully and Garrus fidgeted restlessly as the decontamination sequence began. He just wanted this over with.

"Standby, shore party. Decontamination procedure in progress," EDI's voice said.

They waited while the decontamination field washed over them. Was it taking longer than normal? It felt like it was going on forever. Why did they have to go through this at the Citadel anyways? The environmental systems were even more robust than those on the Normandy. Out of the corner of his eye he saw a distortion in the air. He turned his head and blinked, the image quickly disappearing.

"Shepard, there is an anomalous reading in the decontamination field. Compensating."

Garrus and Shepard exchanged a glance and started to draw their weapons when suddenly there was a burst of light and Kasumi materialized behind them.

"Oops," Kasumi said.

Shepard took her hand off her pistol and scowled mightily at the woman. "What the hell, Kasumi?" she asked.

"Hey, Shep," she said with a guilty little wave, but she quickly brightened. "Wow, your VI is really good, I can usually fool most systems. Think I could get a look at it later?"

Shepard folded her arms. "Not until we have a talk about when and where it is appropriate to sneak around. You were just going to board the ship without telling me?"

"Force of habit. I always check out security first." Kasumi shrugged without a trace of contrition. "Think of it like I'm doing you a favor, looking for holes in your security. Yours seems top-notch, Cerberus must be pretty paranoid."

"I would appreciate your assessment, Ms. Goto. Please inform me if you find any vulnerabilities to exploit." EDI said and Kasumi startled.

"What the..?"

Shepard's lips twitched in amusement. "EDI takes her duties very seriously."

"An AI! You have an AI?" Kasumi tapped the tips of her fingers together in a gesture of predatory delight. "Oh, this _will_ be a challenge."

"No tinkering with EDI, Kasumi," Shepard warned.

Kasumi waved a hand. "No, of course not. That would be cheating. Where's the fun in that?"

"Decontamination complete," EDI informed them and the door hissed open. Kasumi bounded aboard, a noticeable spring in her step. Shepard sighed and smiled ruefully at Garrus and he chuckled softly for a moment, but the moment of levity died quickly. Shepard noticed his change of mood and the smile fell from her face.

"Are we going to be okay, Garrus?"

"Sure," he replied, but he couldn't quite meet her eyes as he said it and she frowned. He left her standing outside the airlock, staring after him with an unreadable expression.


	8. Ordnance Tactics

Garrus heard the door behind him hiss open and he quickly bent over the console, attempting to look like he was in the middle of some work. He didn't have to look to know who had come in.

"Garrus?" Shepard said. "We need to talk."

"Can it wait for a bit? I'm in the middle of some calibrations."

She folded her arms stiffly. He was brushing her off, and she knew it. He'd been brushing her off for weeks and she was growing more unhappy about it. Things between him and Shepard had been cool since his aborted attempt to kill Sidonis. He tried to pretend nothing was wrong, but it was pretty obvious that wasn't the case. He kept finding excuses to avoid her. There always seemed to be work on the Normandy that needed doing whenever she had to go on a mission.

Instead of helping Jacob track down some message from a father who had been missing for a decade, Garrus had to help Kasumi test EDI's security protocols. Ken and Gabby really needed an extra hand optimizing the new fuel cells Samara had brought them when Mordin and Grunt needed to go to Tuchanka. He would've liked to to see their old squadmate Wrex again, but he told himself having a turian along at whatever weird krogan rite of passage Grunt was undergoing would just make things difficult. Turians and krogan didn't exactly mesh since the turians were responsible for unleashing the plague that partially sterilized their entire species.

Shepard didn't even ask when she had to go back to Omega with Samara. He never wanted to set foot on Omega again.

Finding excuses for Shepard was easy. Finding ways to explain it to himself was much more difficult. The concerned looks Kelly leveled at him just made everything worse and he started avoiding her too.

"It can wait, but not for long," Shepard said.

He froze, wondering if she was about to force him to have the conversation he'd been avoiding. He felt his temper rising

"We picked up a quarian distress signal from Haestrom, we're on our way there now."

Oh, this wasn't about their fight at all. Garrus didn't know whether to be relieved or irritated.

"Isn't Haestrom inside geth controlled space?" he asked. "What are the quarians doing there?"

Shepard shrugged, her arms still folded. "Don't know, don't really care. The message mentioned Tali. If she's in trouble, we help her."

Garrus stopped pretending to work and gave her his full attention.

"Listen, I won't order you to come," Shepard said brusquely. "But I want someone else Tali knows with me. The quarians are still pissed at Cerberus and.."

"Yeah, of course, Shepard."

Some of the tension left her posture, but she was still visibly unhappy.

"One hour," she told him, and left.

After the door closed he slammed his fist on the console. How had everything gone so wrong? He'd had a _plan_. Sidonis had betrayed him, betrayed all of his friends. His death was necessary. But Shepard had interfered. She had gotten Sidonis to talk. She had forced him to hear the other side of the story. A small, petty part of Garrus wished he didn't have that knowledge. He wasn't proud of that feeling, but not knowing had been easier. He would have taken the shot, and everything would have been done. The dead would be at rest. He'd be able to sleep without dreaming of his dead, he wouldn't feel sick inside every time he looked at Shepard.

Garrus gathered his gear and headed down to the shuttle bay with no small amount of trepidation. He climbed into the kodiak and found Shepard already aboard, Thane Krios in the seat next to her. Normally that was his seat and he felt strange seeing someone there. And a second sniper seemed extraneous, wouldn't Miranda have been a better choice?

Right, she she couldn't bring the Cerberus personnel. He was being ridiculous. He'd never second-guessed her tactical decisions _before_. This dispute with Shepard had him all out of sorts. He had to find a way to focus.

Garrus eyed the drell and he took the seat across from her. He didn't know much about the assassin. Thane was secretive, kept mostly to the life support bay, something about the climate being better for him. Garrus respected the skills an effective assassin would have to possess, but he found the concept of a hired killer distasteful. Politically he could appreciate their expediency, they were certainly an effective solution to problems that couldn't be solved other ways. It was a short step though from assassin to mercenary and his opinions on mercenaries were very low after Omega. Still, Thane was interesting. Garrus hadn't really met any other drell before. They had a very small population relative to the other races in the galactic community. Thane didn't react to his scrutiny, he didn't seem wholly _there_. His large black eyes flickered quickly from side to side, as if he were watching something only he could see. It was pretty unnerving.

The shuttle suddenly shuddered as it passed out of the Normandy's protective mass effect field and hit Haestrom's atmosphere. Garrus' knees jostled Shepard's across from him and they both shifted uncomfortably in their seats. It was pretty hard to avoid someone's gaze when they were sitting directly across from you. Shepard scowled at the back of Joker's head in the cockpit while Garrus dropped his eyes to the floor and noted Shepard was tapping her foot restlessly. She always got a little amped before action. He started to tease her about it but stopped himself. He glanced back up to see Thane's gaze focused on him and smiling slightly. Garrus wasn't sure what he was smiling at, but he found it inexplicably annoying.

Shepard cleared her throat and Thane turned his attention on her. "We make our approach as covert as possible, keep things quiet. The transmission we intercepted indicated Tali's people were in trouble, but we don't need to barge in there and make things worse."

The kodiak dropped through the upper atmosphere into the troposphere. Joker leveled off their decent and sped along a lateral trajectory, flying through banks of dark clouds to obscure the shuttle from the ground. They rushed towards the dawn, the clouds around them lightening to dusky purple and pink. Garrus started to be able to make out the landscape, a vast expanse of ruined buildings stretching across the surface of the planet. Haestrom had been a quarian colony that had been lost during the Geth War. These ruins was the relic of a civilization that still existed, but profoundly changed. The ruins were unsettling, a stark reminder of how easily an entire civilization could destroy itself.

As the sun rose over the horizon it lanced into his eyes, painfully bright. He turned his head away and blinked until his eyes stopped hurting. When he looked again the shuttle had dropped below the level of the clouds and the harsh glare of the sun was dulled. Joker halted the forward motion of the shuttle and lowered them gently to the ground. Shepard gestured and everyone piled out of the kodiak, silent and alert. As soon as they'd cleared away from the shuttle Joker took off again.

Thane and Garrus fanned out behind Shepard and followed her down the large ramp that lead into the ruins. They seemed to be following an old industrial road, the ground was scratched with the marks of long-departed ground vehicles. The city seemed to be laid out in a series of terraces, each level smaller than the level below it. The buildings on the lower levels were blocky and industrial. The architecture was simple and unadorned, but the buildings were still charmingly non-uniform in size and shape. It had been a living city once, constructed and changed over time, not some pre-fabbed affair thrown up quickly as many colonies were these days.

"Quarian architecture," Garrus said in a hushed tone. "There's two words you don't expect to hear together."

"What could draw the quarians this far into geth space?" Thane asked curiously.

Garrus shrugged. "Your guess is as good as mine."

"Doesn't matter," Shepard interrupted them irritably. "We're here for Tali, that's it."

Garrus lapsed into an annoyed silence. Sometimes Shepard was a little _too_ task-oriented. Or maybe it was because she was human. As the newest additions to the galactic community, most of them had a lack of appreciation for non-human history. There had been no quarian colonies since the synthetic AIs they created had gained sentience and rebelled against their creators. No organic, quarian or otherwise, had set foot here in nearly 300 years. He was fascinated to have a glimpse of how the quarians had lived before they'd been forced to wander the galaxy in their flotilla.

The buildings were all built from the same crumbling white rock. The rock was deeply pitted and damaged, but the pattern of the damage was strange. Whole walls of buildings would be uniformly damaged across the entire face, while other walls seemed completely untouched, almost pristine. This was more gradual, the result of time and exposure. Exposure to what?

As they moved down the ramp, Garrus had to keep his eyes slightly downcast. The sky was mostly overcast, the dusky purple and pink clouds obscured the brightness of the sun until it was just an angry red disc, but there were gaps in the cloud cover. Wherever the sun peeked through, the harshness of the light made him squint. Even though the day was overcast and they were shadowed by the surrounding buildings, the air was oppressively hot. Between the light and an odd haze in the air it was difficult to make out the details of anything too far off in the distance.

The ruins weren't completely abandoned to the geth, scrabbling along the base of the buildings were some large insects, about the size of a thermal clip. Garrus wondered what there was for them to eat, he didn't see any vegetation anywhere.

"Shepard, our data indicates that Tali is somewhere in these ruins," EDI's voice reported. "There is considerable geth activity and an environmental hazard."

He could almost hear the frown in Shepard's voice as she asked, "What environmental hazard?"

He was still watching the bugs when one of them trundled out from the shadow of the building it was scavenging in and into a patch of the overly bright sunlight. As it did, it immediately ignited and burned to a crisp. That's when he noticed the fine mist was rising from every rock surface the sun touched. The haze in the air was _rock_? He carefully edged towards the light and stuck his arm out. His kinetic shield crackled and sparked alarmingly.

"Oh, crap," he exclaimed in surprise, snatching his arm back. The status indicator on his HUD showed the shield strength draining at a dangerous rate. "I'm having serious issues with my shields."

"Solar output has overwhelmed Haestrom's protective magentosphere. Exposure to direct sunlight will damage your shields," EDI explained.

"Lovely," Shepard drawled.

"We will fight from the shadows," Thane remarked calmly.

The metal road they followed through the buildings was mostly blanketed in the protective shadows of the buildings standing between them and the present position of the sun. Where there were gaps between the buildings where the sun shone through, they had no choice but to run. The warning alarms on their shields blared urgently until they were safely out of the light. More disturbing were the groans of the overheated metal warping beneath their feet as they pounded over it. How many cycles of heating and cooling could that metal endure before it was structurally unsound? Between the possibility of structural collapse and whatever geth were hiding in them, the towering ruins suddenly seemed a lot more hazardous.

The long, sloping road terminated at the foot of a pair of tall buildings with a closed gate stretching between them. Controls to operate the gates were nowhere in sight, but there was a rusty red door leading into the building on the right. Shepard cautiously cracked the door open and started back as a geth fell towards her and hit the ground. They drew their weapons, but the geth was inert, lifeless. It had some extensive damage from weapon fire on its torso. From inside the building Garrus could just make out the sound of a voice speaking, but the speaker never appeared. He couldn't understand all of the words from this distance, but when it started repeating, he realized it was a recorded loop.

Shepard stalked into the room while he and Thane guarded the rear. She reappeared shortly and jerked her chin towards the interior to indicate it was safe to come in. Just inside the door on the floor were more dead geth and slumped against the wall, a motionless figure in a red environmental suit. Male quarian, military, judging by his gear and the armor plating. The inside of the building wasn't in much better shape than the outside, but the computer equipment that Shepard was investigating seemed modern.

The recording played again, and this time he could make out the words. "Emergency log entry. The geth are here. I've stayed to buy the others time. Anyone who gets this, find Tali'Zorah. She and the data are all that matters. Keelah se'lai."

Shepard kept trying the controls until she found the one that activated the gate. It rumbled and squealed loudly as it rolled open and Garrus winced at the noise. There was no way their presence could be considered "covert" any longer.

On the other side of the gate they entered what appeared to be an old cargo yard. Tall, crane-like structures were set into the ground at regular intervals on either side of a wide crevice sunk into the ground, and the area was littered with large blocks of the white rock, some stacked higher than his head. Perhaps it was a quarry, not a cargo yard? It was tough to tell from their haphazard placement if the rocks were there on purpose or if they were the crumbled remains of smaller structures. There was a long, multi-level building complex on their right with a metal ramp leading to a walkway along the second tier. On the left was a tall wall, separating the yard from the rest of the ruins. Shepard frowned, surveying the ground. Garrus didn't like the look of it, either. The yard was was too open, too exposed to the sun and possible enemy fire. Their shields would overload and drop before they got even half way across, and he didn't want to find out what the sun would to do him without the shield's protection. Probably fry him inside his own armor. There was some shade by the wall, but the cover from attack nearly non-existent.

"We need to find an alternate path," Garrus said. "We're going to roast out here."

Maybe they could make it to the buildings on the right, the ramp up to the second level would give them the high ground. If they could find a way into the buildings they would be protected, but they could also be full of geth, for all he knew. And he wasn't too keen on trying to fight his way through a building that could collapse on top of them if it took too much damage. The walkway was a possibility, but the angle of the sun meant the upper levels were even more exposed to the solar radiation. It was difficult to tell from below if the barricades along the edge offered any protection.

Shepard started to nod, then whipped her head back at the roar of sound overhead. Garrus looked and saw the familiar shape of a geth drop ship streak over their heads. Geth units with nasty-looking rifles piled out mid-air and landed on the far side of the ruined yard. Their design hadn't changed in the two years since he and Shepard had last fought the geth under Saren's control. They were similar in shape to their quarian creators, they had the same distinctive digitigrade limbs. Synthetics often mirrored the shapes of their creators, but the irony was not lost on him that with the geth, the quarians' appearance had changed to resemble their creations instead. Being forced to flee their planets had made donning environmental suits a constant necessity, so they appeared more mechanical than organic. The opaque helmets of the quarians obscured their facial features entirely, and the geth had no facial features at all, just a single large optical sensor that glowed. Ashley Williams used to derisively, if aptly, call the geth walking flashlights.

Garrus turned to jog up the ramp leading to the upper level. He'd just have to risk it and hope he could find some cover from the sun up there. He was yanked short by Shepard's hand on his elbow and she pointed insistently towards the wall on their left. He shook his head emphatically.

"I need higher ground," he yelled over the noise of the drop ship.

"The sun will cook you up there!"

"I'll take the chance, I can cover you from there."

She glanced over his shoulder and shook her head. "Bad plan."

He bristled at her response but she just shoved him towards the wall and growled, "That's an order, Vakarian."

Then he saw why, that there were geth headed along the upper level from the opposite side of the yard, right towards the position he'd meant to take. The geth in the ruins had gotten closer while they argued and were nearly upon them. They dodged the first volley but before they could return fire, three of the nearest geth spouted a flood of viscous white fluid and collapsed in a heap in quick succession. Garrus glanced up and saw that Thane had scaled one of the crumbling piles of rock and made a sniper perch for himself on the lee side from the sun. There was a thin sliver of cover and he had to practically hang off the side to stay in protected. Garrus wouldn't have even considered it as a tactical position but Thane was clearly used to improvising.

Thane reloaded his clip calmly and said, "Go ahead, I will follow."

Shepard and Garrus ran into the ruins, through the sun and the gunfire until they reached the relative safety of the protective wall. There they were shielded from the solar radiation, but they still had the geth to contend with. They swarmed through the ruins, most coming from where the drop ship had left them at the far side of the ruins. Shepard ducked behind the narrow shelter made by the thick pillar holding up this section of the wall and Garrus squeezed in next to her. She glared at him.

"I know you're pissed at me," she said shortly. "But can we work _together_ , please?"

"Yes ma'am."

A muscle twitched in her jaw, she was grinding her teeth so hard. She muttered under her breath, but he wasn't able to pick out any of the words except, "stubborn" and "jackass."

He deserved that, picking a fight with his commanding officer in the middle of a battle was an idiotic move.

Shepard ducked out of cover to blast one of the approaching geth into a heap of broken electronics with her heavy pisto . She turned back to Thane and signaled him, indicating which route she wanted him to take through the ruins. Garrus saw him swing down from his perch with an enviable grace make his way into the ruins, darting from one hiding place to another silently. He would pause, make a kill, and have moved again before any of the other geth could pinpoint his position. It was damn impressive. Shepard, with a marked _lack_ of stealth, charged into the fray, drawing most of the attention to her and away from Thane. Garrus was forced to follow her and guard her back. Geth were relentless adversaries, only kill shots would stop them, they simply ignored injuries.

The geth did not seem to have the same vulnerability to the solar radiation that they did, which allowed them to range freely while Garrus and Shepard were forced to stay in the narrow zone of safety delimited by the shadow of the wall. But they knew how to fight geth, and very quickly they fell into sync with each other. The tension between them eased into the old rhythm of overloading electronics and shields just a moment before Shepard was ready to finish the target with her pistol.

Garrus and Shepard reached the far end of the yard and paused under the protective overhang of the bordering building complex, scanning the ruins for more geth as they caught their breath. Except for the weak stir of air swirling the dust, the ruins looked still. Even in the shade, the heat from the sun was brutal. Shepard's face was flushed red and her short hair stuck to her forehead damply. Turians were adapted to the high temperatures of their homeworld, but Palaven had nothing on Haestrom.

Thane reappeared next to them, looking serene. He seemed oblivious to the heat and unphased by the fighting. Garrus scowled at him.

"Not even this heat will make you break a sweat, huh?"

"My people are native to a desert world," Thane said with an enigmatic smile. "Absent the radiation, the climate of this planet would be quite pleasant."

Their reverie was broken by the sound of shots cracking in the distance. The sound bounced off the rocky buildings and made the source difficult to pinpoint, but it sounded like it had come from the corridor that lead between the buildings nearby. Shepard took off at a run towards the noise with Garrus and Thane close behind her. They ran through the winding corridor and the sounds of fighting grew louder until they were stopped by a geth bursting into view in front of them, thrown back by the force of weapons fire. It sparked and collapsed, but the sound of the battle raged on. Garrus peered around the corner and saw a pair of geth backing a quarian soldier into a dead end. The rest of the quarian's squad were laying still on the ground, already dead. Quickly, Garrus aimed his rifle at one and shot it, while Shepard charged the other. But they weren't fast enough. Shepard knocked her target to the ground as it gunned down the last quarian solider. Shepard smashed the flickering light of the geth's optical sensors with her boot resentfully.

"Break-break-break OP 1 this is squad leader Kal'Reegar do you copy?" a muffled voice asked.

Garrus stooped down next to the dead quarians, hunting for the source of the voice. These men must have another squad somewhere in the ruins that were trying to communicate with them.

"They sent a drop ship towards OP-2," the voice reported. "Tali'Zorah is secure, but we need backup. We're bunkered up here, can you send support?"

Shifting one of the bodies, Garrus found a handheld radio trapped beneath. He tossed it to Shepard who caught it as the voice grew more urgent.

"OP-1 this is squad leader Kal'Reeger, come in, over!"

"This is Commander Shepard of the Normandy," she said in a careful voice. "Can we provide assistance?"

"Patch your radio into channel 617 Theta," Kal'Reegar replied. "We were on a stealth mission. High risk. We found what we were after but the geth found us."

The three tapped the commands into their omni-tools to tune their headsets into the quarian channel. He and Thane nodded to Shepard to indicate they were tuned in and she tossed the hand-held radio back to the ground with the bodies.

"They've got us pinned down," Kal'Reegar said, his voice much clearer over their comms than it had been over the handheld unit. "I got no idea why you're here, Commander, but this ain't time to be picky. Can't get to the ship, can't transmit the data through the solar radiation."

"What's the status of your team? How many of you are left?" Shepard asked.

"We were a small squad. Dozen marines plus the science team. Down to half strength now," Kal'Reegar replied tersely, then he let out a small grunt of satisfaction. "Made the synthetic bastards pay for it, though."

"What brought you this deep into geth-controlled space?"

"You're asking the wrong person, Shepard. I just point and shoot."

Shepard glanced at Garrus when he chuckled and smiled faintly, probably guessing the source of his amusement exactly. Neither of them had ever been particularly good at shutting up and taking orders.

"How are you holding up? We can come to you now."

"Take it slow and careful. Direct sunlight fries your shields all to hell," Kal'Reegar warned. "We're bunkered down at base camp across the valley."

Shepard strode past the bodies on the floor to the wall where there was a window cut into the rock at chest height. Garrus leaned on the window sill next to her and looked out, trying to see where Kal'Reegar was talking about. On this side of the building complex they were high above the ground and another huge building complex, several stories high some distance away. Calling the relatively lower ground between the towering structures a valley wasn't strictly accurate, but it would do. The so-called valley was another industrial-looking zone, containing a number of smaller outbuildings along the outside edges, some a couple of stories high. A series of ramps and bridges lead from one outbuilding to another, one stretching clear across the width of the valley. There was only one entrance to the huge building that Garrus could see, and the quarians had erected barricades right outside, forming a narrow defensive point they could defend with their small force. From this vantage point Garrus could just see the quarian soldiers crouched behind the barricades, their guns flashing as they fired at the swarm of geth units trying to assault their position.

"I left Tali'Zorah at a secure shelter, then doubled back to hold the choke point," Kal'Reegar explained. "Getting Tali and the data out safely is our top priority. If you can extract her, we'll keep them off you."

Shepard caught his eye and Garrus nodded. That plan was just fine by him, their priorities were in line with Kal'Reegar's.

"You got confirmation the geth haven't reached Tali yet?" she asked.

"Affirmative. Left my best men with her. When you get here you can talk to her on the comm. Every marine on this rock is sworn to protect Tali'Zorah. As long as one of us draws breath, she'll be safe."

Garrus and Shepard exchanged a quizzical glance. Garrus knew Tali's father was some sort of big shot admiral in the Migrant Fleet, but it wasn't typical for quarians to prize one person's life so highly just because of family connections. He wondered what research Tali could possibly be doing that the quarians were so invested in.

"You're going to throw your life away for research?" Shepard asked, giving voice to his own thoughts.

"Negative," Kal'Reegar replied, a little military bravado creeping into his tone. "I'm going to give my life for the Migrant Fleet. All the difference in the world. I'm no tech expert, Shepard. I'm a marine. They tell me to shoot, I shoot. They said to protect Tali and the data. You get them out safe, I've done my job."

"Hold position," she ordered. "We'll hit their back ranks."

Shepard sat on the edge of the window and swung her legs over the other side. Garrus looked down, wondering what she could possibly be planning. He couldn't see any way down from here, except for a thin ledge below the window. It had to be at least three meters down, and just barely wide enough to stand on. From there it was an easier drop to a slope that lead into the valley below, but the ledge would be difficult, if not impossible, to hit without injury.

"There's got to be a better way down, Shepard," Garrus said nervously, breaking off when when a bone-jarring thrum from an unseen source roared overhead.

"Wait, watch your ass!" Kal'Reegar's voice had gone up an octave in alarm. "We've got a drop ship coming in!"

The geth drop ship descended past the window, close enough that the engines rattled the unstable rock walls, dislodging dust and gravel. Garrus grabbed Shepard and hauled her bodily back into the room and held onto her before the vibration jarred her loose from the wall. They both watched with dismay as the drop ship made a pass over the quarian barricades and fired a volley of heavy weapons fire at the defenders. It was a massacre. The quarian soliders fell, and the structure cracked, raining chunks of rock onto the ground. One of the large, blocky pillars in front of the entrance started to wobble dangerously, but the armored door to the building held. The likelihood that it would survive long under the geth attack was slim.

Shepard pushed away from Garrus and ran back to the window. "No time for a better way down," she said.

"Perhaps there is," Thane said. He took a few running steps towards the window and vaulted over the edge, turning to the catch the sill in his hands as he did. He swung his body out, then let the movement carry him back towards the outside of the wall. When his feet touched he released his grip and slid down the sheer surface, using hands and feet to check his speed. He landed lightly on the ledge, making the descent look effortless. Shepard let out a low whistle of appreciation and Garrus grunted in disbelief.

"The hanar train their assassins well. I wouldn't have guessed it from the jellyfish," she remarked.

Thane smiled slightly up at her from his precarious perch. "You wouldn't say that if you'd ever seen them in the oceans of Kahje." He held up his hands to Shepard. "Come, I will catch you."

Shepard swung herself out of the window and dangled from her grip on the sill, facing the wall as Thane had. Garrus felt a stab of apprehension at the sight of her hanging over so much empty air. She dropped, and he held his breath. She fell towards Thane and he stretched up and neatly caught her around the waist. They swayed together as she hit the ledge, but she grabbed Thane's shoulders and he held her tightly, anchoring them both. Then Thane knelt and swung Shepard by the arms down to the lower level. She hit the ground with a slight spark of biotic power as she used her abilities to cushion her fall.

Thane got back to his feet and looked at Garrus expectantly. Even having just seen him deliver Shepard safely to the ground, Garrus hesitated. Unlike Shepard, he outmassed the slight drell. There was an ominous cracking sound and they all looked to see the loose pillar's wobbling orbit finally destabilize and it crashed with a ground-shaking thud, right in front of the entrance.

 _This gets better and better._

Thane still waited patiently below, and Shepard shouted up at him, "Get a move on, soldier!"

Garrus lowered himself as far towards the ground as he could, took a deep breath, and let go. He felt the air rush past him as he hurtled down. It took all his training to resist the overwhelming urge to tense all his muscles. Objectively he knew the fall only took a few seconds, but it felt a lot longer. Finally he felt Thane catch him, then felt his feet touch stone. Garrus lurched awkwardly as he hit and he scrabbled for any purchase he could gain on the smooth wall, but Thane steadied him with no more apparent effort than he'd used to catch Shepard. The man was deceptively strong. Garrus wasn't quite willing to trust his strength to swing him down the final length, however. He jumped down himself, knees bent, and landed flat on his feet. Pain jolted up his legs and back from the force of the impact and Garrus nearly lost his footing. He danced a few steps in place and swore. He looked up, waiting to see Shepard smirking at him, but she'd already taken off at top speed. Thane leapt, hit the ground and rolled, coming smoothly up to his feet in one lithe movement. He didn't even have to pause before running after Shepard.

They hit the geth attacking the bunker from behind, and killed them before the geth even realized they were there. Shepard investigated the entrance, searching for any gap between the pillar and the door that they could possibly squeeze through, but there was no way in.

"Dammit, the doorway's blocked," she reported to Kal'Reegar over the comms.

"There's demo charges in the building nearby," Kal'Reegar reponded. "Can you use them to clear a path?"

They heard the din of fighting start up again through the comms.

"They're coming in through the side!" Kal'Reegar exclaimed. "I've got to fall back."

"Shepard, I have scanned the area and located the demolition charges," EDI interjected helpfully.

"Saving the day again, EDI," Shepard said. "Put it on my radar."

Shepard checked her omni-tool and jogged towards the building EDI indicated. Where the rest of the ruins had been empty, abandoned husks, this room seemed clogged with stuff by comparison. The quarians had obviously set up this building as a supply cache and it was well-stocked. There were crates of medicine, weapons and all kinds of equipment whose function was a mystery to Garrus. How had the quarians managed to ferry so much down without the geth being aware? How long had they been here? There were yellow food crates stacked up all the way to the ceiling on pallets throughout the room. Judging by the number of crates that were now empty, the quarians had been here for weeks.

Shepard and Thane started digging through the crates looking for the explosives, but Garrus snooped through the computers instead. They were mostly full of scientific data: solar readings, mineral analyses, and other environmental data. Garrus wasn't sure why the quarians would risk so much to study a planet they had no hope of colonizing. In a different folder he found a series of audiologs. He called up one at random.

"It's next to impossible to get accurate solar measurements."

Shepard startled for a second at the sound of the voice, her hand immediately going to her weapon. When she realized what had happened she scowled at Garrus for surprising her. Her scowl faded as she listened to the log continue. It was Tali's voice, the first tangible sign that she had been here.

"The radiation keeps burning out our equipment. This sun shouldn't be like this. It was stable a few hundred years ago. Stars don't die that quickly."

Shepard went back to searching through the supplies. Garrus played the next entry in the log.

"We need a core sample to get a timeline on the rate of radiation increase, but our equipment keeps dying on us."

Tali sounded so aggrieved that Garrus couldn't help chuckle a little. Tali was a skilled engineer, she would take it personally that she couldn't keep the equipment working properly.

"Shepard once used a mining laser to clear out some rubble back on Therum. Maybe I can do the same with demolition charges."

He raised his eyes from the computer terminal to look at Shepard, who had frozen at the mention of her name. She had a half-smile on her face that echoed his own emotions. He felt a fond nostalgia creep over him at the memory of one of their first missions together. Therum had been an archaeological dig, a ruined city overrun with geth, not unlike this one.

"Just like old times, right Shepard?" he asked quietly. "You, me, Tali, the geth.. and blowing things to hell."

Her half smile slowly blossomed tentatively into a full smile at his remark. She gave up looking for the demolition charges to come join him at the computer terminal.

"Why do so many of our plans involve explosives?" she asked with a tone of mock complaint in her voice.

"Don't ask me, they're usually _your_ idea," he pointed out. "I always just assumed that's how all Spectres solved problems."

Shepard snickered softly and selected another audiolog. This time Tali's voice was slightly hushed and reverent.

"Our ancestors walked these halls with uncovered heads. The sun must have been normal back then. There's so much space. Walls of stone.. It's amazing. I wish my friends could see it. I wish Shepard was here."

Garrus felt a sympathetic pang for Tali, hearing the wistfulness in her voice.

 _I wish Shepard was here.._ He'd had the same thought so many times during the two years he'd thought she was dead. He'd never wished it more strongly than when the mercenary gangs had him backed into that corner. And she _had_ come, an avenging spirit made flesh, like a miracle. He remembered his relief, and the painful joy of realizing she was alive. At the moment, his anger and resentment seemed so frail in comparison. He glanced down at the terminal, acutely aware that Shepard's hand rested only a few inches from his. It was making him weirdly agitated.

"How do you do that?" he asked her.

Shepard's brow furrowed in confusion, not following his train of thought. "Do what?" she asked.

"Show up when someone needs you most."

She stared hard at his face, searching his expression for something. The distance between them seemed smaller at this moment. He slid his hand closer to hers until they were just barely touching. He wanted to make some gesture that would bridge the narrowed gap, uncertain what to say.

"Commander," Thane called and they jumped apart, almost guiltily. The moment broke and he withdrew his hand from the terminal, feeling foolish. Shepard glanced once at Garrus quickly then went over to Thane. She was back on point, back to the mission.

"I've located the demolition charges," Thane went on, indicated the crate at his feet.

Shepard hefted the crate of demolition charges. "These will do just fine."

Garrus and Thane escorted Shepard and her explosive burden outside, on the lookout for geth reinforcements. They didn't have to look for long. They'd barely made it out the doorway before they felt the impact of the geth pulse weapons on their shields. The attack was coming from somewhere above them. Garrus looked up and saw geth coming across the bridge from the second story of a building across the valley.

Thane and Garrus circled Shepard and shielded her as best they could as they moved towards the quarian barricades. She had her hands full with the explosives. Their shields held up against pulse rifles, but the new wave of geth included geth Primes equipped with rocket launchers. They took shelter in the space between the outside stairway of the quarian supply cache and the ramp that connected it to the bridge. Shepard dropped her crate and drew her weapon. The ramp above their heads blocked most avenues of attack from above, but it worked against them as well. The geth couldn't hit them, but they could keep them pinned down.

"We're taking too much fire!" Garrus yelled. He scanned the area, searching for another option. He traced the path of the ramp they were hiding under, noting the way it lead to the second story entrance of another building. The building's windows were shuttered, but they had the perfect angle on the bridge. The shutters seemed new relative to the rest of the ruins and Garrus hoped that meant they were still in working order.

Garrus pointed to the window and shouted, "If we head to the left we can flank them!"

Shepard looked where he was pointing and nodded. "Take Thane," she said. "I'll keep them busy."

She shoved the crate of explosive into the camped crevice beneath the stairs, then ducked out of their hiding place and threw a shockwave towards the center of the valley. It thudded through the open space, shaking all the loose rock in its path and echoing off the walls, giving the geth something loud and noisy to focus on. It wasn't their sophistication that made geth dangerous opponents, and Shepard's simple tactic worked. All the flashlight heads swiveled to follow the sound, giving Thane and Garrus the few seconds they needed to dart out of cover. They ascended to the second level and ran inside.

Garrus saw signs of the quarian science team in the mostly empty room. The dust on the ground was scuffed with footprints, and there was a glowing control panel on the wall between the two shuttered windows. Garrus smacked the green button and was elated when he heard the groan of metal and the metal shutters began laboriously lowering. Garrus set up his sniper rifle in one window, while Thane took the other. They had a wide open view of the entire valley. Some of the geth had descended to the ground level to stalk Shepard through the ruins. She kept moving, making it difficult for the geth to target her. Her inability to see around corners was a liability, however, and the geth were slowly driving her into a corner.

First things first, they had to dismantle the geth Primes, their rockets were the biggest threat. But they were tough, and heavily armored. Garrus could disrupt their shields but shooting through the armor was another matter. It was possible but he'd have to use most of his ammunition to do it.

Garrus eyed Thane and asked, "You're a biotic, right? Can you make warp fields?"

Thane nodded, then tilted his head quizzically.

"I overload the shield, you warp. We get the timing just right," Garrus said, "It'll make a big boom."

Thane's black lips quirked into a smile. "I had never considered that particular strategy. I am unaccustomed to making my kills openly. Or working with a partner."

"Stealth isn't going to help us much here."

Thane nodded, "Indeed. Let us proceed."

Garrus singled out a Prime unit in the middle of the pack, then asked Thane, "Ready?"

Thane's hands glowed a faint purple and a small, spherical field of power snapped into being between them.

Garrus counted down and triggered the overload. The geth Prime's shield collapsed in a shower of sparks and the geth unit staggered, it's electronics disrupted by the electrical discharge. Thane's warp field hit it a fraction of a second later and the cluster of shifting, unstable mass effect fields shredded any armor it touched. Where mass effect field met electric discharge a dangerous chain reaction began. The unstable field collapsed and higher-energy electrons were remitted, collapsing another field and increasing the energy levels. The cumulative effect was a powerful burst of electrical discharge thrown out in a wide radius around the origin point. It would have been damaging enough to organic targets but against synthetics it was pure devastation. Joints locked up as the circuits controlling their servos burned out then they keeled over and their headlamps exploded.

"Wow," Garrus breathed. "Perfect."

Thane bowed his head briefly, "Embrace the sea."

Garrus snorted. "They're synthetics, I don't think your gods are interested in them."

"That is not for me to judge," Thane replied serenely. "Our theological discussion can wait, however."

Their destruction of the geth prime had caused the remaining geth prime to reorder the threat priority of their targets and Thane and Garrus were now at the top of the list. They both ducked behind the walls to avoid the rocket that sailed through the window and detonated against the rear wall. The wall cracked under the onslaught but thankfully, it held. Garrus winced and rubbed the sudden ache in his metal jaw. He was still twitchy about rockets being fired in his direction.

Destroying the second prime proved more tricky than the first. The timing was difficult to get right when you were under fire, and the second prime's had done something to its shields made it more resistant to Garrus' ability to overload it. Their tech burst damaged half of it's body severely, but it wasn't destroyed. Thane threw a biotic field at the prime and that knocked it's crippled body off kilter, giving Garrus the chance to land a precision shot with one of his armor-piercing rounds. The prime twitched once in protest before its headlamp dimmed and flickered out.

The biggest threats removed, they turned their attention to the dozens of less powerful units still left. Shepard's ability to maneuver around them was dwindling as they herded her into tighter and tighter quarters. But now they were the side with the superior position. Thane raised his snipe rifle to his shoulder and began firing shot after shot, each one a kill. Garrus' professional pride was stung and demanded he match the assassin kill for kill.

"Hey Krios, want to make it interesting?" Garrus asked when they both were forced to stop and change thermal clips. "First one to five kills has to clean the guns."

"There are nine rounds in a clip," Thane said. "But if you are not confident enough to make the goal higher, five would be sufficient."

The comeback surprised a chuckle out of Garrus. The arrogant bastard was always so serious he hadn't expected that response. Garrus finished readying his weapon and nodded out the window.

"Heh, I don't think Shepard is going to leave us enough for our contest."

"Yes, she's quite formidable," Thane said, admiration in his voice. "Like the goddess Arashu, fierce in her wrath."

The depletion of the geth forces had dropped their numbers to the point where Shepard was no longer simply defending herself, but had gone on the offensive. Now _she_ stalked the geth through the ruins. Any groups that dared approach her were stunned by a shockwave and easily destroyed with weapons or a biotic charge. She was so fast, Garrus and Thane had to work to keep up with her rate of destruction. Garrus targeted one of the geth suspended helplessly in the air by her biotics. The force of the shot sent it hurtling it through the air and crashing into a wall.

"One for me," he called.

"Two," Thane replied and fired. His bullet had enough velocity to blow through one geth and into another standing behind it.

"That's cheating," Garrus grumbled under his breath.

They continued, calling out their kills as they went. By the time the last geth was killed, they were even with each other.

"Looks like it's a draw," Garrus declared, a little disappointed.

"I believe Shepard beat both of us," Thane replied.

"She's such a show off."

Garrus gathered his gear and jogged down to where Shepard was on the massive fallen pillar. She had retrieved the crate of demolition charges and was attaching them to the pillar at regular, close together, intervals. Thane fished the detonators out of the crate and followed along behind her, wiring up each charge she applied.

"You know only have to destroy the bit in front of the door, not the whole thing, right?" Garrus quipped. Shepard had covered far more of the pillar than was strictly necessary to gain entry to the building.

"Spoil sport," she said and added a few more charges just to spite him.

"Explosives armed," Thane warned. "We should move clear."

Shepard set the timer for the detonator and pressed the key to activate it. The display flashed **0:00:08** in big, red numbers and began counting down. They quickly retreated to a safe distance and took shelter behind a stack of heavy metal barrels. They crouched and waited tensely, bracing for the explosion. A shrill alarm sounded from the timer and the charged detonated in a blast of flame and noise. Chunks of rock and dust exploded outward in all directions. They waited until the sound of the detonation stopped echoing off the walls before carefully standing up. The section of the pillar directly in front of the door had crumbled into neatly inverted arch. Shepard surveyed the damage with a look of faint disappointment on her face. Garrus looked at her askance and she shrugged sheepishly.

"I was kind of expecting a bigger explosion," she complained.

Garrus shook his head at her. "Shape charges just aren't as cool as a mining laser, huh?"

Shepard sniffed at him and pushed the door open carefully, her gun drawn. The interior of the building was dim compared to the harsh glare of the light outside, but Shepard stiffened and trained her gun on a bright spot of moving light near the floor. Garrus realized it was a geth crawling along the ground, partially disabled but still alive. Shepard fired two quick shots and the light winked out amid a shower of sparks. The geth went still. As his eyes finally adjusted Garrus noticed more still forms on the ground that resolved into more geth as well as quarians. This room was even more crammed with equipment and supplies as the cache in the outbuilding had been, and had further been outfitted with workstations and sleeping areas. One of the workstations held an active comm terminal and displayed a holographic image of a quarian in a familiar purple wrapped environmental suit.

"Tali'Zorah to base camp. Come in base camp."

Shepard tried to open the only door in the room. It was locked and no matter what she did with the controls, it refused to budge.

"Hello? Is anyone there?" Tali called from the comm terminal.

Shepard gave up on the door and crossed the room to the comm terminal. She hunched over the control panel and engaged her end of the connection. Garrus saw Tali visibly react when Shepard's image must have appeared on her end.

"Tali, it's Shepard. I'm sorry, everyone here is dead." She looked around before saying, "Any survivors must have fallen back."

"We knew this mission was high risk. Damn it." Tali shook her head sadly. "And what are you doing here?" she asked, her hand briefly coming into view as she gestured incredulously to Shepard. "We're in the middle of geth space!"

Shepard shrugged. "I was in the neighborhood. I thought you might need a hand."

Garrus snorted in amusement. They'd been nowhere near the neighborhood. But Shepard would never come right out and say she'd pushed the Normandy to it's limits as soon as she'd heard the quarian distress call.

"Thanks for coming, Shepard. It means a lot to hear your voice. Kal'Reegar and what's left of the marines got me into the observatory. It's through the door and across the field. I got the data I needed, and I'm safe for now, but I've got a lot of geth outside."

"It looks like somebody sealed the door against the geth, and the console is damaged. Can you get it open on your end?"

"Let me see." Tali turned her head away from them and Garrus could see her shoulder moving as she tapped out the commands on her console, though nothing below her elbows was visible. "Yes, I can do it. It should be unlocked now."

There was a faint beep and the indicator light beside the door turned from red to green.

"Be careful, Shepard," Tali warned. "And please do what you can to keep Reegar alive."

Tali killed her end of the connection and her image vanished. Shepard palmed the controls and the door hissed open. As it did they heard the sounds of fighting in the distance. Some heavy weapons' fire for sure, though the exact type wasn't identifiable. They hurried down the corridor towards the sound and presumably the observatory. They encountered several more sealed doors, their locking mechanisms completely ripped out. They ascended several stories, searching carefully for a way through. The quarians were pretty thorough when it came to sealing all points of access to their base of operations.

Finally they found a door that while locked, was still intact. Shepard was able to dig around in the controller's circuitry until she found a way to manually bypass it. The door opened and Garrus found himself facing the glowing cannon of an enormous four-legged mechanical monstrosity. Garrus heard Thane shout, "Colossus!" at the same time he heard Shepard shout, "Get down!"

There was the thunderous boom of an explosion just as something hit him hard and he was knocked to the ground. A gout of flames roared over his head, right where he'd been standing. For a moment he felt disoriented by the noise and confusion. Garrus tried to get up but a heavy weight on his chest was pinning him down. He tilted his head and saw Shepard laying on top of him. The building still shook with the force of the explosion. Garrus ducked his head reflexively and wrapped his arms around Shepard's head to shield her from the rubble that fell from the ceiling. He felt a little ridiculous a moment later when he remembered she was wearing a helmet.

After the shaking subsided Shepard shifted her body against his sending a confusing tingle down his spine. He let his arms slide down around her shoulders as she raised herself to her hands to look at him.

"You alright?" she asked in a low, rough voice.

"Nearly blown up by a geth colossus? Definitely like old times."

She let out a soft huff of laughter and the sound made him shiver again. The near miss had his nerves jangling, that's all. She rolled off him and pushed herself into a crouch. She'd thrown them off to one side of the door, and Thane was crouched on the other side. The colossus was visible in the doorway but it's cannon was still recharging. It was farther away than it had initially seemed, but it was no less threatening for it. The thing was massive, several stories high so that even this high up, it's canon loomed over them. Shepard got to her feet and went through the door, her body bent low, gun held at the ready.

Just outside the door they found themselves on a balcony overlooking an expansive industrial plaza that was overrun with smaller geth units. There were a number of geth clustered around the door of the building on the far side while others were focused on some point on the level below. The building across the plaza didn't look much like any observatory Garrus had ever seen, but the geth activity seemed to indicate that's where Tali was holed up. Shepard crept along the balcony towards the stairwell on the other end, with Thane and Garrus close behind her. Garrus kept one eye on the colossus as they went. He wasn't keen on fighting it, but he was going to destroy anything between them and Tali.

They descended the stairs and saw a quarian marine in a red envirosuit crouched behind the low wall reloading a hand-held rocket launcher. Garrus glanced up and saw the colossus moving towards them, it's cannon glowing brightly.

"Over here!" the quarian shouted over the din of gunfire, gesturing urgently. "Get to cover!"

They ran with their heads down, geth bullets whizzing over their heads. The quarian marine stood and trained his rocket launcher on the geth trying to get into the observatory. He let a rocket fly and it detonated at their feet, blowing their legs out from under them without damaging the building. He threw himself back into cover when Shepard reached him.

"Squad leader Kal'Reegar, Migrant Fleet Marines. We talked on the radio before that dropship arrived."

There was a deafening roar when the colossus fired again. They all flinched when the round from the pulse cannon smashed against wall between them. Garrus had to put a hand out to steady himself as the building shook under the force of the blow.

Kal'Reegar jerked his head towards the observatory when the shaking stopped. "Tali's inside over there," he shouted. "The geth killed the rest of my squad, and they're trying to get to her. Best I've been able to do is draw their attention."

"Are you sure she's still alive?" Shepard asked.

"The observatory is reinforced. Even the geth will need time to get through." Kal'Reegard hefted his rocket launcher and chuckled darkly. "And it's hard to hack a door when someone is firing rockets at ya."

"We need to get to Tali. Got any ideas?"

"Just one," Kal'Reegar said with a shrug. "I'm not moving so well, but I can still pull a trigger and I've got a rocket launcher the sun hasn't fried yet. You move in close and I'll keep the colossus busy, maybe even drop its shields. With luck, you'll be able to finish it off."

"Why get in close and take the risk?" Garrus asked. "Why not just blow it to hell from up here?"

Kal'Reegar shook his head. "It's got a repair protocol. Huddles up and fixes itself. I can't get a clear shot when it's down like that. And the geth are near platoon strength. I tried to move in closer and one of the bastards punched a hole clean through my suit."

"How bad is your suit damage?"

"Combat seals clamp down to isolate contamination, and I'm swimming in antibiotics. The geth might get me but I'm not going to die from an infection in the middle of battle." Kal'Reegar said snidely. "That's just insulting."

"You've done enough, Reegar," Shepard said. "You don't need to throw your life away."

"Wasn't asking your permission," he said. He tapped his chest and raised his weapon. "My job is to keep Tali safe. This is our best shot."

Kal'Reegar started to get to his feet but Shepard shoved him back down. It wasn't a hard shove, but the man's bad leg wobbled and gave out and he ended up sprawled on his ass.

"We don't have enough people on our side for you to take one for the team! Stand down!"

"I'm not going to stand there while you run into enemy fire!" Kal'Reegar said hotly. "They killed my whole squad!"

"And if you want to honor your squad, watch my back!" Shepard fired back. "Tali said to keep you alive. That's what I'm gonna do. Besides, I need you here in case they bring reinforcements."

Garrus couldn't see the quarian's expression behind his opaque faceplate, but everything in his body language suggested frustration and anger. Garrus knew exactly how he felt. The burning need for vengeance at any cost. But it made no tactical sense, Shepard was right.

A wave of guilt hit him, then anger. This was different. Killing Sidonis wouldn't have jeopardized anything.

"Alright, Shepard," Reegar said gruffly. "We'll do it your way."

Shepard gestured and asked, "What can you tell me about the battlefield?"

"Right side's got a catwalk with a sniper perch. You could wreak some havok from there but none of my men made it past the geth. Middle's got cover, but the damn colossus has a clear shot at you the whole time and you've got geth coming in from both sides. The left gives you some cover from the colossus but your ass is hanging out for the geth. That's how I got shot."

Kal'Reegar pointed out each position as he described it, then he offered his rocket launcher to Shepard.

"Hit them for me!"

Shepard gently pushed his weapon back and shook her head. "Keep it, I've got my own."

She pulled out the Collector particle beam she'd scavenged on Horizon and patted it gently.

Then she looked at Thane and Garrus. "On my signal, you head to that sniper perch. Keep the geth off me while I go for the colossus."

Shepard flipped a switch on the particle beam and its power source began humming threateningly. She stood and activated the beam, sweeping it across the field in an arc. The colossus' armor smoked and cracked under the intense energy of the particle beam. Shepard sliced cleanly through one of the leg joints on her way towards the main body. The colossus tilted dangerously to the side, losing its balance. Then suddenly all its remaining limbs and its long neck curled protectively into its body and it initiated the repair protocol.

"Let's see it repair _that_ ," Shepard said with grim satisfaction.

"What the hell _is_ that thing?"

Shepard grinned wickedly and said, "Little present I got from the Collectors."

Kal'Reegar laughed the laugh of a man resigned to death who had started to hope again. "Keelah se'lai, Shepard."

Shepard headed down into the middle of the field while Garrus and Thane went towards the catwalk. There were already a number of geth crouched behind the cover up there.

"I'll light 'em up, you move into position." Garrus said.

Thane nodded. Garrus hunkered down behind a barrier, overloaded one geth and shot another with his sniper rifle. Thane sprinted up the ramp to the catwalk and crouched down to cover Garrus when he moved. They slid along the upper barrier like that, one covering while the other advanced, staying low to keep out of the sun and the gunfire. They cleared the catwalk of geth before turning their attention below. Shepard had made a push down the middle while the colossus was still repairing itself, but she hadn't made it far. Her route across the middle section was interrupted by a deep chasm and the bridge spanning it made a handy chokepoint for the geth to defend. They were bunkered down on either side behind metal barricades and barely had to expose themselves to her fire to keep her off the bridge.

"C'mon guys," Shepard said over the comms. "That colossus isn't going to stay down forever."

Garrus overloaded one geth and the resulting electrical explosion caught a second geth in the blast. They both went down in twitching heaps of fried circuits. Then he felt bullets slamming into his shields from the left. He looked to see geth that had broken off from the main force to try and retake the catwalk. Thane had already turned to face them, throwing a biotic field that arced smoothly to hit his target and send it hurtling away.

"I'll watch your back, you watch Shepard's," Thane said.

"We've got you," Garrus said to Shepard over the comms. He turned his attention back to the field below, trusting Thane to do his job. He lifted his rifle to his shoulder and fired, taking the geth right through it's ridiculous face lamp. He swung his gun towards the next target and felt a sharp stab of fear when Shepard's face flashed through the scope. For a second he was back on the Citadel, Shepard and Sidonis in his scope, his anger pounding in his chest.. He swung his rifle wide, towards the geth farthest from her and cursed himself for the irrational reaction. He wrenched his mind back to the present, he had to stay focused.

Shepard had broken through the line of geth and was headed for the colossus when it suddenly unfolded and got back to its newly repaired legs. It rose over Shepard menacingly, she barely taller than it's knee. Its canon glowed blue and swiveled towards her. Garrus heard her curse and saw her throw herself to the side, narrowly avoiding the blast. She pulled the Collector weapon off her back again but couldn't bring it to bear before having to scramble away again, this time to avoid the barrage of machine gun fire the colossus fired at her.

"Hey Reegar," Garrus barked over the comms. "That rocket launcher would come in handy about now."

Garrus saw the red of Kal'Reegar's helmet poke up from behind the wall where they'd left him. Then there was a flash of light and he heard the telltale whistle of a rocket being launched. It hit the colossus squarely and the detonation knocked the colossus back a step or two. Kal'Reegar fired one more rocket before ducking back down to avoid a blast from the pulse canon. Garrus put a few armor-piercing rounds in the colossus himself, though it barely seemed to scratch it. It was enough of a distraction to let Shepard deploy the Collector weapon. Shepard left a smoking black line of damage along its armor as she swept it across its neck, trying to sever it's main weapon. She only made it halfway through before the colossus reared back and started curling in on itself again. Shepard cut the beam and streaked towards the colossus, moving so fast she was just a glowing blur. She dove and rolled _under_ the colossus just as it closed around itself.

Garrus forgot how to breath.

"SHEPARD!" he shouted.

No response.

Another wave of geth flooded down the catwalk towards them. Garrus ignored the shrieking alarm from his overtaxed shields and rushed the geth with his assault rifle. He didn't stop to take cover even when his shields were pushed past their tolerances and collapsed. He felt the temperature spike immediately under the onslaught of the solar radiation and his armor hissed disturbingly, but he didn't care. He waded into the geth forces, forcing them back before him with barely controlled bursts of gunfire. He was indirectly aware that Thane must have followed from the way some of the geth jerked and fell away from him, a shot put cleanly through them with a high-powered rifle. He thought he even heard Kal'Reegar shouting in the distance, but his attention was for the colossus.

Once he'd reached it, he realized he had no idea what to do. He couldn't just shoot it, he might hit Shepard. If she was even still alive.. He ruthlessly squelched that thought. She was still alive. She had to be. He tried to wedge the barrel of his rifle into the seam between two of the legs, to use it to lever them out of the way. A thin stream of smoke was trickling between the gap. Garrus became aware of the sound of over-stressed metal. He put his hand to the side of the colossus and immediately snatched it back when he felt the intense heat. The metal buckled visibly and he jumped back just as the particle beam emerged, barely missing him. The beam cut through the metal in a circular motion and suddenly a large chunk flew towards him. Shepard stood in the smoking opening, breathing heavily as she climbed out of the wreckage.

Garrus glared at her, the relief that she was okay immediately overrun by anger at her recklessness.

" _That_ was your plan? Throw yourself under the huge, hulking machine that might crush you and _cut your way out_?"

"Well, it wasn't really a _plan_.." Shepard shrugged. "I was improvising."

Shepard turned away from him and went towards the observatory door while he fumed silently. She was always pulling stupid stunts like this. She'd already _died once_ and she hadn't learned a damn thing apparently.

Shepard called over the comms. "Tali, you still there? Olly, olly oxen free."

"Olly what?" Tali asked in confusion. "What bovines, Shepard?"

"Sorry. I meant, the geth are gone. You can come out now."

"Just a second, let me get the door. There, that should do it."

The inside of the building was a rocky, unfinished cavern stuffed with computer servers humming busily.

"Just let me finish this download," Tali called without looking up. She was tapping briskly at a computer terminal on the far side of the room. The suits should've made all quarians look alike, but Tali was still instantly recognizable. There were subtle differences to the pattern covering her environmental suit that denoted her new status as an adult since returning from her pilgrimage two years ago. Garrus had to step carefully over the crumpled bodies of several geth to get to her. They must have gotten into the building before it was sealed, but Tali had obviously handled it. Garrus was pleased to see she hadn't lost her edge. Tali entered one final command with the keyboard and looked up at them.

"Thank you, Shepard." Tali threw herself at Shepard and hugged her fiercely around the neck. Shepard's surprise was written clearly across her face and she patted Tali awkwardly.

"If not for you I would never have made it out of this room," Tali went on after releasing her hold on Shepard. "This whole mission has been a _disaster_."

"I'm glad I could help," Shepard replied. "I admit, I wasn't sure you'd want it, after how we left things.."

"I wish I'd joined you back on Freedom's Progress," Tali interrupted, grabbing Shepard's hands. "I would have, but I couldn't let anyone take my place on a mission this risky."

"You still could," Shepard offered hopefully. "Once you deliver your data, I could use you on the Normandy."

"I promised to see this mission through, and I did. I can leave with you and _send_ the data to the Fleet. And if the Admirals have a problem with that," Tali scoffed and made a rude gesture, "They can go to hell. I just watched the rest of my team die."

"Maybe not the whole rest of your team, ma'am," Kal'Reegar said from the door.

"Reegar!" Tali exclaimed happily. "You made it."

Kal'Reegar limped towards them and said wryly, "Your old captain's as good as you said. Damn colossus never stood a chance."

"Yeah, she's a regular one-woman wrecking crew," Garrus snarked. Tali playfully punched him in the shoulder.

"Don't be a grouch, Garrus."

"If need be, the Normandy can get you out of here, Reegar," Shepard said.

"The geth didn't damage our ship. Long as we get out of here before reinforcements show up, we'll be fine."

"Actually, I won't be going with you," Tali said, a little defiantly. "I'm joining Commander Shepard."

Kal'Reegar nodded slowly. "I'll pass the data onto the Admiralty Board and let them know what happened. She's all yours now, Shepard. Keep her safe."

"Will do, Reegar."

Shepard radioed Joker while Tali and Kal'Reegar said their goodbyes. There wasn't enough space to land the shuttle right outside the observatory, so Shepard directed Joker to meet them back in the valley. The four of them retraced their route, through the wreckage of the colossus and back to the bunker containing all of the quarian equipment. Tali stopped when she saw the bodies of her fallen comrades on the floor and murmured something that sounded like a prayer to herself with sorrow.

"A lot of quarians lost their lives here," Shepard said with quiet sympathy. "Was it worth it?"

"I don't know, Shepard. It wasn't my call." Tali shrugged helplessly. "The Admiralty Board believed the information here was worth sacrificing all our lives for. I have to believe they know what's best."

"I didn't ask what some admiral thought," Shepard said. "I asked what _you_ thought."

"A lot of people died here. Some of them were my friends. All of them were good at their jobs."

They stood just inside the doorway to stay out of the solar radiation and watched the skies above the valley for signs of the shuttle.

"What data was so important that they'd risk all your lives?" Shepard asked.

"Haestrom's sun is destabilizing," Tali explained. "Back when it was a quarian colony it was normal. The sun is far too young for this to be a natural phenomenon."

Shepard frowned and shook her head. "Why would the Admiralty Board care what happened to this star?"

"They care if the cause is something the geth are doing."

"Did you find anything to suggest that?"

Tali shook her head. "No, but I haven't analyzed everything. That damn data better be worth it. The price was too high."

Their conversation was cut short by the roar of engines overhead. The kodiak set down in the middle of the open space, raising a cloud of dust around it. They ran quickly through the sun and clambered through the open door. Joker's face broke into a huge grin when he saw Tali.

"Tali! Always nice to see a familiar fa.. err.." Joker broke off awkwardly when he realized what he was about to say. Tali just chuckled.

"Good to see you, Joker. Though I have some complaints about how you took care of our ship."

"Everyone's a critic," Joker mumbled. "You should check out the new Normandy. Cerberus gave her a few upgrades."

Joker lifted off abruptly and everyone scrambled for seats. Tali and Garrus took the bench across from Thane and Shepard. Thane folded his hands in his lap and grew very still, the far away look on his face that he'd worn on the trip down. Garrus wondered if he were meditating, he seemed like the type. Tali watched him, a curious bend to her posture, but she was too polite to ask questions. Garrus supposed in the tight quarters of the Migrant Fleet the social conventions surrounding privacy were very strict.

Garrus leaned towards her and said, "Thane Krios. Drell assassin. Cerberus found him somewhere.

"That's why you're here, Tali," Shepard said. "I need people who aren't Cerberus. People I can trust." Shepard's words were directed to Tali but her eyes drifted to Garrus as she spoke. Garrus looked away uncomfortably. Tali's head tracked from Shepard's face to Garrus' averted gaze and she tilted her head quizzically.

"I assumed that you were undercover, Shepard," Tali said. "Maybe even planning to blow Cerberus up. If that's the case, I'll loan you a grenade."

Shepard shook her head. "I told you the truth on Freedom's Progress. Cerberus brought me back to stop the attacks on the human colonies. We've learned since then the Collectors are responsible." Tali shuddered a little at the mention of the Collectors. "I don't have to like Cerberus to work with them."

"Remember, these people thought enslaving Thorian creepers and rachni was a good idea," Tali snorted with disdain. "You asked me if my mission was worth it. Is yours?"

Shepard grimaced. "I won't make apologies for them, there's no doubt Cerberus' methods are questionable."

"That's an understatement," Garrus drawled.

"But their commitment to stopping the Collectors seems sincere. This is _my_ mission," Shepard said. "We do things my way."

Tali relaxed back into her seat. "Good enough for me."

Jacob was waiting for them in the cargo bay when they returned to the Normandy. Jacob stuck out a hand for Tali to shake when she disembarked the shuttle.

"Cerberus saw footage of you in action, Tali'Zorah. We're looking forward to having you on the team. Your engineering expertise will really benefit the mission."

Tali ignored his proffered hand and folded her arms. "I don't know who you are, but Cerberus threatened the security of the Migrant Fleet. Don't make nice."

Jacob dropped his hand. "I wasn't part of what happened to the Migrant Fleet, but I understand your distrust," he replied politely, if coolly. "I hope we'll get past that as we work together."

Tali turned her back on him to face Shepard, who was just exiting the shuttle. "I'm here for you. Not for them," Tali said, gesturing over her shoulder to Jacob.

Garrus put an arm around Tali's shoulders and turned her around, steering her towards the door.

"How about I take you to engineering, introduce you to Donnelly and Daniels," he said cheerfully, and hopefully distractingly. He knew Jacob well enough now to know no matter how polite he seemed, the man harbored grudges against aliens.

"I'll get Tali'Zorah the necessary security clearance to access our systems," Jacob said. It was an open jab, a reminder of whose colors the Normandy flew.

"Please do," Tali said sweetly, the scorn practically dripping from her voice. The jab had hit it's mark. She recognized Jacob's hostility but wasn't going to be cowed by it. "I can't be part of your team if I don't know how the ship works."

"Don't forget to introduce yourself to EDI, the ship's new artificial intelligence," he called after them as they headed towards the door. His polite tone only honed the edge of the insult he offered.

Tali went rigid under Garrus' arm and she stopped walking. Garrus had to push her along for a few steps, until they were in the elevator and the door safely hissed shut.

"An AI?" Tali hissed, completely livid. "And I thought the rachni and Thorians were bad!"

"Joker's still pretty pissed about it too, but EDI's not so bad," Garrus said, hoping he didn't sound as lame as he felt saying that to Tali of all people. "Actually, it's been pretty helpful."

"The geth were helpful right until until they rebelled and slaughtered my people." Tali shrugged off Garrus' arm in disgust. "And you! I can't believe you, after all those digs about how we lost our homeworld to the geth."

"What? I never said that."

"Would you like me to send you an audio recording?" Tali asked archly, tapping her helmet. "The suit records _everything_."

"No, I hate listening to recordings of myself," he joked, trying to deflect some of her ire. "My voice never comes out right."

Tali just crossed her arms and hummed skeptically. Garrus shifted uncomfortably and rubbed the back of his neck. He didn't need to hear the recording, he knew exactly what she was talking about.

"Look, about what I said," he started.

Tali shook her head and said, "Forget it."

"No, I was wrong. I was young and.. I was wrong about your people. And about you."

"Oh," Tali said, a little stunned. "Thanks."

They lapsed into a contemplative silence. Garrus listened to the whir of the elevator slow as it approached the engineering deck.

"Alright," Tali finally said. "Show me what Cerberus has done to my ship."

The elevator stopped and the door opened. Garrus was grateful for the chance to change the subject.

"I think you'll like Ken and Gabby, they only joined Cerberus because of Shepard. Ken nearly got himself court-martialed, he complained so much when they tried to deny everything after she died."

"We'll see."

"They're not all bad," Garrus said. "Cerberus."

"I can _maybe_ get used to Cerberus, but I'm never going to like that damn AI."

When Garrus left engineering, Tali was arguing with the two Cerberus engineers about something too technical for him to follow. He was a decent hand at general engineering, but his particular expertise lay with the weapons' systems. Tali's genius was on a whole other level. She would have Ken and Gabby answering to her inside of a week. That was one thing he enjoyed about engineers, they were too practical to let command structures get in the way of efficiency. Jacob could _try_ to enforce the Cerberus hierarchy all he wanted, but in the end, Tali would be in charge. Garrus took what satisfaction he could in the knowledge that if any of them survived the mission against the Collectors, the Illusive Man would get back a crew that aliens had corrupted.


	9. Evidence of Things Not Seen

"You stinking Bosh'tet!"

Garrus squirmed his way out of the panel he'd had his head stuck inside, the electronic guts of which were spilled on the deck beside him. Tali was thumping noisily in the crawlspace to his right and cursing up a storm in her native language. The only part of her that was visible were her thrashing feet.

"Having trouble?" he asked mildly.

"I think my helmet is stuck."

"Need me to pull you out?"

"…please."

"Tali, you know I'd be happy to assist you out of, well, anything you wanted." Ken leaned over the console he was operating and leered openly as Tali tried to wriggle out of the maintenance duct. Gabby elbowed him hard and he huffed loudly in pain.

"Kenneth! You shouldn't talk like that to the boss."

Garrus had been wrong about how long it would take for Tali to get Ken and Gabby answering to her. She hadn't even needed an entire week, it had taken her all of two days. Ken had grumbled at first about Tali's unorthodox jury-rigging because the Normandy's systems were "precision engineering" but when Tali had shown him how her jury-rigged multi-core shielding would prevent dangerous power surges in the core when the shields were stressed, his grumbles faded. Quarian engineering might not be as pretty as Donnelly liked, but the Migrant Fleet had trained Tali to wring every last bit of efficiency out of systems with limited resources.

Garrus extracted Tali from the duct, much to Donnelly's disappointment. After helping her to her feet, he stretched to relieve a cramp in his back. His eyes rose involuntarily as he did, glancing up the wall of the engine room. The new engine was so tall, the room housing it stretched nearly to the top of the ship. The other decks wrapped around the engine core and many of the rooms had windows looking in on it. He could see Mordin busy at work in his lab on the command deck and the empty armory across from it. Jacob was usually in there, fussing with the weapons or working out. The man seemed to spend a lot of time doing crunches. Further down, at the level of the crew deck, he could see into the life support bay. Shepard was standing with her back to the window, leaning easily against the glass. Garrus was distracted by the motion of her shoulders as they moved up and down. She was laughing at something. His jaw clenched unconsciously as Thane stepped up to the window next to her.

"Once we get these FBA couplings installed we'll only have to calibrate every week instead of every day," Ken said. "We should celebrate our newfound free time with some Skyllian Five poker. You in, Tali?"

"Sure, that sounds fun."

"What about you, Garrus?"

Garrus didn't respond. Ken glanced upward to see what had caught Garrus' attention. "Hey, is that Shepard? Chatting to the assassin again? I guess she would be the type to like her men dangerous, eh? OW! What was that for?"

Ken glared as Gabby elbowed him again. Garrus didn't understand the subtext of their interaction, but judging on the way Gabby glanced in his direction it had something to do with him.

"Let's invite the Commander, to thank her for getting us the couplings," Ken suggested.

Garrus dragged his attention away from Shepard and Thane and tried to pay attention to the conversation.

"Oh com'on," Gabby said. "An officer isn't going to want to play with grease monkeys like us."

"Shepard's not like other officers," Tali said.

"Yeah, Shepard likes to get friendly with the crew," Garrus grumbled.

Gabby glanced at Tali, who gave a slight shrug of her shoulders.

"Great!" Ken enthused, completely oblivious, and used his omni-tool to send a message to Shepard. "I'll get the cards when we're done."

"I'd be careful though, Donnelly," Garrus warned, a little spitefully. "Beating the commanding officer might not be good for your career."

"Is she a sore loser?"

Garrus shrugged. "I don't know. I've never seen her lose." He opened his mouth in his closest approximation to a human smile. "Ever."

Ken swallowed visibly and left the room, mumbling something about the primary power transfer system. Gabby went after him and said, "You shouldn't take the game so seriously."

Tali watched them leave, then put her hands on her hips and looked at Garrus. "That was mean."

Garrus did feel a little bad about teasing the engineer. Shepard wasn't at all as petty as he'd implied. He glanced back up at the window into life support, but Shepard and Thane had moved out of sight. Shepard did like to get to know her crew, she had a pretty hands-on command style. Instead of waiting for people to come to her with problems, she spent time with everyone equally. Lately though it seemed like she was with Thane a lot. It was an errand of his that had brought them back to the Citadel, where Shepard had gotten the FBA couplings they were currently installing.

Why did it bother him to see them together? It was something about Thane, about the way he looked at Shepard; it made him uncomfortable. It didn't help that he and Shepard still weren't exactly speaking. Things between them had thawed since Haestrom, but they still weren't easy with each other.

"What's going on with you and Shepard?" Tali asked, seeming to divine his thoughts. Damn. Sometimes old friends were a pain in the ass. They knew you too well.

"Nothing."

"Oh please, Vakarian, I'm not blind. You can barely look at her anymore and you're angry all the time. Is it Cerberus?" she asked. "Have they changed her?"

"No, no," Garrus said hurriedly. "Nothing like that."

"Then what?"

"It's complicated."

Tali just waited with her arms crossed.

"We had a.. disagreement." He growled softly. "She was supposed to help me do something, but she interfered instead. Criticize one of her plans and she pulls rank, but when she doesn't like what you're doing.. Sometimes she's damned self-righteous," he griped bitterly.

"Well.. was she right?" Tali asked.

Garrus grunted. "Maybe. I don't know. I don't like it. If her call was the right one, why can't I see it?"

Tali made a sympathetic noise.

"Garrus, you've always seen everything in absolutes. Sometimes there isn't a right or wrong answer. There's just the answer you can live with, and the one you can't. This isn't the first time she's stopped you from going off half-cocked. I don't have to know what happened to know she was probably right. So stop being so stubborn."

"We should get back to work."

Tali sighed. "So stubborn."

It was late by the time Garrus and Tali finished. He was tired, hungry and filthy, but the hour suited him. Third watch was Garrus' favorite. That was when everyone off duty tended to sleep. Aside from the hum of the ship itself, everything was quiet. The crew of the Normandy was run on a system of constant watches. Day and night had no meaning in space, but the human crew still preserved the quaint idea of day and night watches. All non-critical work was scheduled during the "day" watches and except for the crew required to keep the ship running, everyone else rotated off during the "night" watches. It was the best time to hit the mess or the showers if you were a barely-tolerated alien among a crew of zealous xenophobes.

Garrus made his shower an extra long one this time. May as well enjoy one of the perks of late-night living. He brooded over what Tali had said. She didn't know what had happened with Sidonis, she had no idea what she was talking about. Sidonis was a traitor. He had to pay for that. He didn't get to go on and live his life while the others were dead. That was justice, wasn't it?

That was the litany he'd been repeating to himself over and over again since Omega, but it had lost some of the power it used to have. The anger that normally rose in him at the thought of Sidonis was muted now, tempered by the memory of his defeated posture and the fear in his voice when he talked about the gangs threatening him. Garrus pushed the memory away angrily. Why did it matter why he'd betrayed them? It was still a betrayal, right? Actions have consequences. He still couldn't summon up the old rage. He realized he was angrier with Shepard now than with Sidonis and that didn't sit well with him at all.

Garrus finished his shower and dressed, mulling all this over. He was still ravenous, so he stopped by the mess to grab a bite to eat. This late he usually had the mess to himself, but tonight he found Thane sitting alone at one of the tables. He had the remains of a meal in front of him and a steaming cup of something that he drank as his eyes scanned the room ceaselessly. Garrus noticed he had chosen the table with the fewest avenues of approach and with the clearest sight lines. Some might have taken his vigilance personally, but Garrus knew it was just force of habit. It was the table he always chose for himself, too. Once you were trained to see things a certain way, it was impossible to stop seeing them.

The mess was otherwise empty. Gardner was off duty along with most everyone else. He always left a few meals ready in the kitchen, knowing the schedules the alien members of the crew tended to keep. Garrus collected his usual meal and eyed Thane. He had been hoping for solitude, but with just the two of them there it seemed rude to just ignore him. He took the seat across from Thane and the assassin nodded to him politely, but said nothing. Garrus pushed his food around on his plate for a minute, also saying nothing. He had never been good at small talk and the drell seemed to have no discomfort with the silence.

"So, uh, how's the.. whatever that is?" he finally asked, gesturing to Thane's mug.

"Tea? It is acceptable." Thane took another sip. "It is not what I am accustomed to."

Garrus grunted in sympathy. "Gardner should probably have stuck to fixing the plumbing."

Thane smiled slightly. "I did not mean to imply it is bad. The quality of the food has improved markedly of late. It is merely different. Gardner cooks to please the human crew."

"Gardner tried cooking dextro food a few times but.." Garrus shuddered dramatically. "After awhile he switched to buying pre-made stuff."

Garrus started in on his meal, the stuff only got worse as it cooled. He chewed for awhile, keeping his eyes on his food. He couldn't pinpoint exactly why Thane made him so uncomfortable. He'd more than proven his worth on Haestrom. Garrus knew he could trust him to watch his back in a fight. The memory of Shepard leaning casually against the window and talking to Thane came to his mind unbidden. He speared a piece of food with his utensil with an unnecessary amount of force.

"Krios," Garrus said abruptly, then stopped, feeling ridiculous. What was he going to say? He put the food on his fork into his mouth and chewed to buy time. Thane waited for him to continue serenely.

"What do you and Shepard talk about?"

Garrus winced inwardly, hearing the question come out of his mouth. But Thane didn't ask him what he meant like anyone else would have. He just seemed to know. It was very annoying.

"Shepard and I talk about death."

"You talk about death?"

Garrus was surprised, that was definitely not the response he'd expected.

"Perhaps that is too simple an answer," Thane said. "We talk about many things. What it means to take a life. How that violence affects those around us. The end we all inevitably must face. The strange position she finds herself in, having died once before. The isolation she feels as a result."

Shepard had confided many things in him about her death, but not this. It bothered him that she was willing to discuss these things with Thane and not him. Thane must have read some of these thoughts in his silence.

"Do not feel slighted. Some things are easier to say to a stranger than to a friend. Between us, it is not personal. She does not wish to you to feel that she blames you. She does not. But at times, she feels disconnected from those whom she knew before. She is a woman out of time. For you, it has been two years. For her, mere weeks."

"Sounds like you're closer than you think," Garrus said gruffly.

"Ah. I do not believe it is what you fear, Vakarian."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Thane just smiled enigmatically. Garrus was really starting to get ticked off.

"I admit, I am drawn to her. She has awoken me from my battle sleep. But I believe her affections are engaged elsewhere. It is enough for me to speak with someone who uniquely understands what it means to come so close to death, having died once before."

"We've all come close more than once. And this mission against the Collectors," Garrus shook his head. "Well, none of us should expect to come out on the other side."

Thane shook his head gently. "I am unconcerned with the odds of this mission being a success. I will die regardless of the outcome. I have an illness called Kepral's Syndrome. I joined Shepard to have the chance to do some good before I die."

Garrus absorbed the information with some shock. He'd wondered why a drell assassin would be concerned with the lives of human colonists enough to risk his own in their defense. Now he knew; it wasn't a risk at all.

"I know the feeling," he said slowly. "Isn't there anything to be done? Chakwas is a good doctor, and Mordin's pretty smart."

"I thank you for your concern," he said. "As I told Shepard, I doubt there is anything the medics on your ship can do that the brightest minds of Kahje cannot. They have been studying the problem for years. I believe they will find a solution, but by then my body will no longer draw breath. Shepard's mission gave me purpose, which was enough. She helped me reunite with my son. I haven't words to describe my gratitude. I am at peace with my end."

Thane pushed his empty cup aside and stood. "My death is assured, but is your own any less so? Time grows short for us all. If you will listen to the advice of a dying man, you should not let any words remain unsaid."

And with that cryptic remark, Thane left. Garrus wondered if the entire crew had noticed the rift between him and Shepard. Probably. Garrus sighed.

Garrus stood outside of Shepard's door with his hand hovering over the signal. He had spent the elevator ride up thinking about what to say but he still didn't have any idea. He just knew he was done avoiding the conversation. He stabbed the call button before he could think about it anymore. He'd have to figure it out as he went. When the cabin door opened and he was momentarily unable to process exactly what he was seeing.

Shepard was standing there but she looked completely different. She was wearing an unfamiliar one-piece garment that lacked sleeves and ended just above her knees, leaving her arms and most of her legs bare. Garrus couldn't recall having ever seen so much of her skin.

"Garrus?" Shepard asked uncertainly.

"What..?" he began, then stopped. The changes in her appearance were really distracting. He tried again. "What are you wearing?"

"It's a dress," she said, folding her arms over her chest, covering the low-cut panel in front. He wasn't interested in the configuration of her top, his eyes were instead drawn down to her waist. She had a pretty nice waist. Had he noticed that before? It wasn't like she wore bulky, shapeless uniforms but the tight black leather of this garment was so different. Maybe it was because the shape of her shoes with their tall, thin heels made her posture completely different.

"I know what a dress is," he said, and cleared his throat, trying to regain his equilibrium. "I mean, why are you wearing it?"

Shepard blew out a long, annoyed breath. "Kasumi has a mission. Apparently my usual getup isn't appropriate for a society party."

She moved to run her hand through her hair, but stopped herself short. She kept it cut short, but it had been straightened and was sleekly coiffed. He found he missed the slight curl of its usual disheveled state. She had also subtly colored her face. The color emphasized the green of her eyes, and her lips were a much darker red. Garrus wasn't sure what effect it was meant to have on humans, but to him it made her face look a little angular and strange.

"Wait, are you going on a mission or going to a party?" he asked.

Shepard made a face. "Both. Kasumi's plan is to rob the guy who killed her partner and steal back his greybox. The only way to do that is go in during a party he's throwing."

"Hence the outfit," he said. "Those shoes don't seem very practical. Where are you going to wear your weapons?"

"I know. Kasumi says I can keep my pistol, but the rest of my gear is going to be stuffed into a statue to smuggle our weapons past Hock's security."

Garrus shuddered in sympathetic horror. He couldn't imagine anything he'd hate more than being deprived of his weapons.

"You know," she said with a slight smile. "The statue is of Saren. It's gold and completely tacky."

Garrus snorted. "Spirits, I can't decide if Saren would love the idea of a statue of himself, or hate that it was a gift for a human."

"I thought you might like that." Shepard said. "So.. Tali's all settled in?"

"Yeah, Ken and Gabby have basically crowned her the queen of engineering." He paused, then asked, "Do you want help? With the Kasumi thing?"

"Unless you have a turian tuxedo hidden in your gear somewhere I don't think you'll fit in. Besides, Kasumi is already my plus one. She seems to think we'll be in an out of Hock's vault without rousing an alarm."

"She doesn't know you very well."

"Hey!" she sniffed. But she smiled at him.

"Was there anything else?" she asked.

"I don't want to delay you.."

"I have time, I'll be fashionably late."

He let her lead him into her cabin. He stopped just inside the doorway and stood stiffly, hands folded behind his back. He still wasn't sure what he was going to say to her. He went over to study her model ship display to give himself a little more time. He felt a little rush of pleasure when he found the ship he'd bought her in a prominent position among the others.

"Do you want to sit?" she asked, gesturing down to the couch. He shook his head. So she half-leaned, half-sat on the desk next to him.

Finally he said, "It's been pointed out to me that I might be acting a little stubborn."

"You? Stubborn?" Shepard asked mildly.

"Says the person who invented stubbornness."

Shepard smirked, but she didn't deny it. "Who pointed that out to you?" she asked.

"Tali. She noticed the.. tension, on Haestrom."

"You told her about Sidonis?"

"No, and she said she didn't have to know what happened, that you're usually right."

"It's good to know at least one member of my old crew still trusts their commander."

"You weren't there as my commander, but as my friend," he said, heat entering his voice.

"Garrus, if I'd been there as your commander I would have just let you kill him, no questions asked."

"Oh really? Your lofty morals would have allowed that?"

"I need you focused on the mission against the Collectors," she said, serious now. "Helping you kill Sidonis would have been the easiest way to achieve that."

"Then why didn't you? Why did you stop me?"

"I didn't."

"Like hell you didn't."

"I stood aside in the end, you decided not to take the shot."

"After you stood in my way. You promised to help me," he ground out in frustration. "I had a plan and you changed it."

"Some plans need changing," she said, her voice rising.

"You mean my plans need changing."

He watched her tense up, but then a softer look came over her face.

"I've made a lot of hard calls, sacrificed people," she said, her voice more subdued. "It changes you. When I saw how you were with Harkin.. I didn't want that for you."

"I've already changed, Shepard," he snapped. "I'm not the man you knew two years ago!"

She winced and they both looked away from each other. His anger was boiling up in him again and the memory of Shepard's face in his crosshairs flashed through his mind. He had been so close to pulling the trigger.. The shame welled up in him all over again.

This was the real reason he'd been avoiding her. He'd told himself it was anger, that she'd betrayed him but really, he hadn't wanted to face the lengths to which his desire for vengeance had almost driven him. She was his best friend and he'd wanted to kill her. Even if it was for just a second, it sickened him. She'd never trust him again if she knew.

He'd also never be able to look her in the eye as long as she didn't know.

"I thought about shooting you," he confessed. "Just for a second."

He tensed, waiting for disgust to fill her face. He was surprised when he saw some of the tension go out of her posture.

"You have to consider that possibility if you're going to stand in front of someone with a gun. It was a calculated risk."

He just stared at her, unable to say anything. She tilted her head at his expression curiously.

"Is that what's been bothering you?"

"Doesn't it bother you? It scared the crap out of me."

Shepard made a dismissive gesture. "People think all kinds of things in the heat of the moment. Can't control that. You were never going to shoot me."

"How could you possibly know that?"

"I trust you," she said simply.

He was quiet for awhile while he absorbed that. He felt curiously light, like he'd been carrying a heavy weight without knowing it. Still, he wasn't quite at ease.

"I want to know I did the right thing," he said slowly. "Not just for me—for my men. They deserve to be avenged." Shepard nodded, her face serious. He went on, "I don't know if letting Sidonis live was the right answer."

"Vengeance is simpler," she agreed. "But the lines between good and evil blur when we're looking at people we know. There isn't a right answer."

"Yeah.." Garrus chuckled weakly. "Tali said the same thing. It's so much easier to see the world in black and white. Gray.. I don't know what to do with gray."

"You've got to go with your instincts. Don't be too hard on yourself."

"My instincts are what got me into this mess."

Shepard laid a hand on his shoulder and smiled crookedly.

"There aren't many things I'm really sure of, Garrus. Except you."

He had less faith in himself than she did. No right answers, just the ones you could live with. He could live with a lot if Shepard believed in him. He covered her hand with his. They were going to be alright.

"Thanks, Shepard. For everything."

"Well," she said, dropping her hand and squaring her shoulders. "Let's get this show on the road."

She turned to walk out the door and he followed, watching the way she swayed a little on those ridiculous shoes of hers. She had pretty nice legs, for a human.

They rode the elevator together down to the crew deck and Garrus couldn't help glancing at her out of the corner of his eye. It was just the outfit, had to be. When the door opened, Kasumi was standing there, waiting to get on. She was wearing her usual outfit, black and grey bodysuit with the black hood drawn over her head. Her mouth creased into a wide smile when she saw Shepard.

"Looking good, Ms. Allison Gunn. Hock won't be able to keep his eyes off of you."

Shepard scowled. "I assume Allison Gunn is my cover?"

"You run a small, but talented group of mercenaries out of the Terminus Systems," Kasumi explained. "Precisely the type of person Hock respects."

Shepard's omni-tool came to life and began displaying all the information Kasumi was sending to it about her fabricated identity.

"I took the liberty of giving you a reputation. Papers, witnesses, article in Badass Weekly. Just don't start talking business with him and you'll be fine."

"Hey, why aren't you dressed differently?" Garrus asked.

Kasumi faded from abruptly from sight. "If they can't see me, it doesn't matter what I'm wearing," she said, and her voice issued from the now seemingly-empty space where she'd been standing. Even watching her do it, the effect was creepy. She faded back into view. "Seriously, Shep, you look great. You should wear this stuff more often."

Garrus rumbled wordlessly in agreement with Kasumi, then coughed in embarrassment when he realized what he was doing. He stepped off the elevator and gestured grandly for Kasumi to take his place. He felt a pang, knowing she was going on a mission without him.

"Shepard, try not to take too many of those 'calculated risks'." He paused, feeling self-conscious in front of Kasumi. "We, uh, still need you to fight the Collectors."

"Please, Garrus. I'm a professional." She pressed a key on the control pad and the elevator door closed on her rolling eyes.

Garrus sighed to himself. "Really smooth, Vakarian."


	10. Bad Moon Rising

"Mister Vakarian," EDI's voice chimed from her console in the Main Battery, "The Commander requests your immediate presence in the briefing room."

Garrus felt a thrill of excitement. The briefing room meant new intel about the Collectors, Shepard never bothered with formal briefings for anything else. He dropped what he was working on and headed to the elevator.

After so many weeks of waiting for Cerberus' information network to turn up some actionable intel about the Collectors and getting reports of more colonies disappearing, the entire crew was on edge. Garrus had started to wonder if Cerberus had promised more than it could deliver. Garrus hated the thought that he and Shepard were wasting their time and compromising their morals by working with Cerberus for no reason. Much longer and Garrus was seriously considering trying to convince Shepard to defect back to the Alliance with the Normandy, maybe try to convince someone else to take the threat seriously. It was a long shot, but doing something sure beat doing nothing.

The elevator arrived on the command deck and Garrus hurried through the corridors to the briefing room.

"..get some hard data on the Collectors, find a way to their homeworld," he heard the Illusive Man say as he came in. The QEC was active and Garrus could see the image of the Illusive Man seated in his usual chair and spectacular vista of red super giant behind him. Jacob and Miranda stood on one side of the room, quietly observing as Shepard conversed with the Illusive Man.

Shepard turned her head minutely, subtly acknowledging Garrus' entrance before replying to the Illusive Man. "Hard to imagine how a turian patrol could take out a Collector ship."

"Reports indicate the hull's intact, but all systems seem to be offline," the Illusive Man said. "They could be making repairs as we speak. I'm not saying it won't be dangerous, but we can't let an opportunity like this slip by."

"If they had a patrol out there why aren't the turians sending in a recon team?" Shepard asked.

"They will, eventually. But I intercepted the transmissions. In the meantime, we're feeding them false reports. You're close enough that you can be in and out before the turians learn the truth."

"You sure this information is good?" Shepard sounded as dubious as he felt.

The Illusive Man ground out the cigarette he was smoking emphatically before replying, "Information is my weapon, Shepard. It's good."

"Send me the coordinates and I'll take care of it."

"Already sent. Once you're aboard the ship, establish an uplink with EDI. She'll mine their data for information regarding the Omega 4 relay. Good luck, Shepard."

The QEC disconnected and the image of the Illusive Man disappeared. Shepard took a few steps back and out of the image scanner before turning to regard Miranda, Jacob and Garrus.

"Thoughts?"

There wasn't much about this information Garrus liked. The unlikely scenario of a turian patrol damaging the Collector ship enough to allow them to board it? Cerberus intercepting reports and feeding false information to his people? It didn't add up. So far Cerberus hadn't asked him to do anything he hadn't felt comfortable with, but hiding information from the Turian Hierarchy about their people was definitely heading into uncomfortable territory.

Jacob responded first and to his surprise, he shook his head in disapproval. "I don't like it, Commander. Story doesn't fit."

"You have a problem with your superiors, Taylor?" Garrus asked.

A muscle twitched in Jacob's cheek but his voice remained level. "I have.. issues with certain actions Cerberus has taken in the past. They've been called terrorists for good reason. As long as the Illusive Man walks his talk, I'll serve. Not sure I trust this talk though."

This was the first time Garrus had heard Jacob say anything negative about Cerberus. He'd thought the man was an organization loyalist the way he treated the non-Cerberus crew, but maybe he was just a garden variety human xenophobe.

"As much as I'd like to believe in turian military prowess," Garrus allowed reluctantly, "Jacob is right. This story stinks. The AA guns on Horizon barely scratched that Collector ship. A routine patrol wouldn't be packing enough fire power to put a dent in it, let alone disable it."

Miranda folded her arms. "Are you suggesting the Illusive Man is lying?"

"He's always got an angle," Shepard said. "This wouldn't be the first time he'd used selective information to manipulate the situation."

"What are our alternatives?" Miranda insisted.

Shepard let out a frustrated breath. "There aren't any." She activated her comms, "Joker.."

"Coordinates punched in," Joker interrupted. "Lets go find us a Collector ship."

"Tell Mordin to suit up. Data collection is his forte."

Shepard waited with Garrus and Mordin in the cramped confines of the cockpit while the Normandy sped towards the coordinates of the Collector ship. Shepard shifted her weight from foot to foot restlessly, going so far as to take a step or two towards Joker's chair before backing up again. On one of her circuits she put her hands on the back of Joker's chair and leaned towards the forward view port anxiously.

Joker shot her a glare. "You know hovering won't actually make the ship go any faster, right?"

"You mouthing off to your commander, Lieutenant?"

"Who me, ma'am?"

"We have a visual on the Collector ship, Commander," EDI said, interrupting their quarrel. Everyone's attention immediately snapped to the view port, scanning for a glimpse of the ship.

"Very low emissions. Passive infared temperatures suggest most systems are offline," EDI continued. "Thrusters are cold."

The Normandy turned and the Collector ship swung into view. It was outwardly identical to the ship they had encountered on Horizon, the same large, oblong central section with a smaller ring-like segment around the midpoint, same irregular rocky exterior. It wasn't motionless, but its movement suggested it was due to residual momentum; it didn't fly so much as drift, rotating slowly around its longitudinal axis.

Joker whistled in appreciation. "That thing's massive. How the hell did the turians take it out?"

EDI reported, "Ladar scans do not detect any hull breaches on the side facing us. I detect no mass effect field distortions, it appears the drive core is offline."

"Rendezvous in thirty second, Commander." Joker said briskly. "Good luck."

They were able to fly the Normandy right up along side the disabled Collector ship without it reacting in any noticeable way to their approach. So far, so good. Joker flew slowly along one side of the ship, searching for some way onto the ship. They weren't able to find anything that looked like an airlock they could dock the Normandy to directly, but there was a port large enough to admit the kodiak. Shepard took the helm of the shuttle herself. The port was little more than an opening in the hull of the ship; there was no recognizable docking equipment, just the faint glow of a field that looked like it sealed against the vacuum of space. The ship wasn't completely dead if it's environmental systems were still working. Shepard landed and powered the shuttle down. They had little choice except to leave it where it was.

The inside of the Collector ship looked much like the outside. The port lead into a long corridor with a standard-appearing metal substructure. It had the usual beams, struts and bulkheads found in most space-faring vessels. Where it differed was the brown mineral-like substance deposited over the surfaces. The substance had been deposited unevenly, thick in some places and thin in others. The layer on the floor was cracked and pitted and the walls had a scalloped texture with stalagmite-like protrusions where the ceiling met the floor. The result was a twisting corridor that more closely resembled natural caverns than a deliberately built vessel.

"I love what they've done with the place," Garrus remarked.

Mordin observed clinically, "Somewhat resembles an insect hive."

"I really need to stop letting you pick the places we go, Shepard." Garrus said, turning to look at her. "You pick a lot of creepy underground lairs. Remember that place on Illos? Terrible atmosphere."

"We're not underground this time, we're in space. Technically, there's no atmosphere."

Garrus pressed his hand to the front of his armor and winced. "I think that joke actually hurt me."

"Penetrating scans have revealed an access node to uplink with Collector databanks. Marking location to your hardsuit computer," EDI informed them.

"Alright," Shepard said, the levity gone from her voice. "Let's get the data and get out."

They marched cautiously down the empty corridor, their weapons held at the ready. Their scans had indicated the ship was dead, but that didn't mean any of the Collectors on board were. Mottled, multi-lobed structures attached to the ceiling cast a sickly light that allowed them to see. Garrus really hoped they were just light sources, they bore an uncomfortable resemblance to eggs. He unconsciously shrunk away from them, feeling an itch between his shoulders. He thought of the little rachni workers and the way they scuttled towards you creepily. The only thing worse was imagining something like that raining down on top of him.

EDI interrupted their tense march towards the uplink node after several minutes. "Shepard, I have compared the ship's EM signature to known Collector profiles. It is the vessel you encountered on Horizon."

"Maybe the defense towers softened it up for the turians," Shepard mused.

"Maybe," Garrus said dubiously. He was still suspicious of the Illusive Man's story. But then he felt a faint flicker of hope kindle. "The missing colonists might be aboard."

He felt the flicker dim as he considered how much time had passed since Horizon. "If they're still alive."

Shepard nodded but her posture straightened slightly. Any slight chance the colonists were still alive was more than she'd had before coming on board.

They continued down the eerily empty passageway. The twists and turns only allowed them to see a short distance ahead of them. Having no idea what might be coming put Garrus on edge. He flinched with every drop of liquid that fell from the ceiling and hit his armor. He kept waiting for an attack that never came.

The passage opened up before them into a larger cavern with high ceilings. Rising from the floor was a strange lattice-like structure made of round balls connected to one another with thin rods. It served no obvious purpose, but Garrus didn't think it was decorative. Directly beside the structure were three large, oblong platforms embedded into the rocky ground. As they approached them Garrus' breath quickened when he realized what they were.

"Same containers on Horizon," Mordin confirmed. "Only empty."

The lids were removed from these pods, giving them a clear view of the glowing yellow circuitry lining the interiors. There was a weird yellow vapor emanating from them. Was that a result of being hooked up to the ship? Or the more horrible possibility: that the vapor was the remains of a colonist that had once been inside. He couldn't help imagining what it would be like to be trapped inside the tiny chamber.

"Horrible. Trapped in these pods, completely at the mercy of the Collectors." Garrus shuddered, the image was so visceral a chill washed through him and left him feeling sick.

There were gaps in the walls of the cavern that showed other caverns adjacent to theirs that seemed largely identical. They contained more small clusters of pods but were still empty of any sign of living Collectors. There was one gap in the wall large enough to walk through and they found themselves in a similarly outfitted room to the first, but notably not empty. Beside the cluster of open pods in this room was a heap of mangled bodies. Mangled human bodies, judging by the few intact limbs Garrus could see sticking out of the heap. Not all of those limbs were still attached to bodies. One of them was still wearing their armor, identifiable as the standard issue of Systems Alliance soldiers. Some of the soldiers who'd come with Ashley to Horizon?

Mordin looked at the bodies, revulsion and pity written plainly on his scarred face. "Horrible, despicable."

"Why would the Collectors just leave a pile of bodies lying around?" Garrus wondered.

"Test subjects from control group," Mordin guessed. "Discarded after experiment was over."

"There are worse things than death — like being test subjects for twisted aliens," Shepard said with disgust.

"This was wrong. Inhumane. Even if Collectors needed to kill for experiments, could have ended lives painlessly."

Garrus frowned at the scientist. Mordin was clearly outraged, but did he object to the Collector's experimentation or just their methodology?

"You're probably right," he replied. Was there really a good way to die after being abducted and used as a test subject? He shrugged uncomfortably and remarked, "Doesn't _feel_ much better though."

Garrus liked Mordin, but it was times like this that reminded him that the scientist had very different notions about what was acceptable in the name of scientific progress than he did.

They continued their search of the ship. There were more piles of bodies. With every pile, the mood of the group grew a little more grim. The hope that they'd find any live colonists to rescue slowly died away. EDI had the coordinates of the data node, but didn't have a layout of the ship. They had to feel their way through the maze of corridors, which had started to subtly change in appearance as they moved deeper into the ship. Where before the mineral compound had been covering a metal sub-substructure, now the gaps in coverage revealed shiny black tiles on the floor and electrical conduits along the walls. The yellow lighting shaded to a cool, sterile blue in this area of the ship. It had stopped looking so much like an insect hive and more like what he expected from a technologically advanced space craft.

They came to a room where the floor ended at the edge of a vast, open space yawning both above and below, and criss-crossed with large metal ducts leading to and from only spirits-knew where. Along the edge of the walkway were pods on raised workbenches. They seemed to be slotted into some device, the head of each pod lined up with a large receptacle, over which was a translucent canopy and one of the ducts that disappeared over the edge and into the warren below. Next to each device were computer terminals with streams of incomprehensible data scrolling along their screens. They were definitely in the Collector equivalent of the science lab.

Garrus braced himself for whatever horror awaited them in those pods. Would there be a living colonist inside or a dead one? He wasn't sure which state would be better. But as he got closer he realized they didn't contain humans at all.

"That's a Collector," he said, dumbfounded. "Were they experimenting on one of their own?"

Shepard had already approached one of the terminals and established a link with it. "EDI, I'm uploading the data from this terminal. See if you can figure out what they were up to."

"Data received. Analyzing."

Mordin carefully inspected the equipment while they waited for EDI's analysis. "Experimentation on other sentient races not uncommon, examples of outgroup negativity found in almost all cultures. But, self-experimentation.. suggests cultural disregard for individuals."

"Preliminary analysis complete," EDI said. "The Collectors were running baseline genetic comparisons between their species and humanity."

"Are they looking for similarities?" Shepard asked.

"I have no hypothesis on their motivations. However my analysis reveals something remarkable. A quad-genetic structure, identical to traces collected from ancient ruins. Only one race is known to have this structure — the Protheans."

Even Mordin seemed at a loss for words. They all stared at the Collectors in the pods, shock on all their faces. The Protheans were basically myths; a mysterious, race that vanished fifty thousand years ago leaving only a scattering of relics behind them that provided bare glimpses of an advanced space-faring culture that had once spanned the galaxy.

"My god, the Protheans didn't vanish," Shepard breathed. "They're just working for the Reapers now."

"These are no longer Protheans, Shepard. Their genes show distinct signs of extensive genetic rewrite. The Reapers have re-purposed them to suit their needs."

"You'd think someone would have picked up on this."

Garrus couldn't quite believe it either. How had this gone undiscovered for so long?

"No one has had the opportunity to study Collector genetic code in this detail. I have already matched two-thousand alleles to recorded fragments. This Collector likely descends from a Prothean colony in the Styx Theta cluster. But there are signs of extreme alteration. Three fewer chromosomes; reduced heterochromatin structure; elimination of superfluous 'junk' sequences."

"Not just DNA alterations," Mordin added, indicating parts of the Collector body that were visibly not organic. "Cybernetic augmentation, body modification. Indoctrination known to cause mental deterioration. Can guess captured Protheans lost intelligence over several cloned generations. As Protheans failed, Reapers added tech to compensate."

Shepard shuddered and said, "The Reapers didn't wipe out the Protheans. They turned them into monsters and enslaved them."

Mordin shook his head sadly. "Closer to husks than slaves. Technology _overriding_ biology, not augmenting. Protheans dead. Collectors just final insult."

"No species should have to suffer through that," Garrus said with sympathy.

"Still, they're working for the Reapers now," Shepard said grimly. "We have to stop them."

"Yes, must be destroyed," Mordin agreed fervently.

"Let's find what we need before the Collectors come to salvage this vessel. Move out."

They left the dead Collectors and continued towards their target coordinates. The passageways lost the high-tech appearance of the lab areas and returned to the cavernous appearance of the passageways they'd first entered. They emerged from the cramped corridor to find themselves in the largest chamber they'd seen yet. Well, it was less a chamber and more of a junction where several corridors met, except the corridors were oval-shaped avenues along the ceiling high above them. They weren't avenues for transit, they were for storage. Hanging down vertically from the roof were pods. Lots and lots of pods.

"Look — on the ceiling," he said, craning his head back and pointing. "More of those strange pods."

"Hundreds at least," Mordin said. "Wonder how many are full."

"Too many," Shepard said.

"I detect no life in the pods, Shepard," EDI reported. "It is probable the victims died when the ship lost main power."

It was probably for the best. Dying in the pods had to be better than anything the Collectors had intended for them.

The only way forward was to go up. There was a ramp that went past the openings that lead to the pod storage bays. The way the pods jutted out from all surfaces of the circular-shaped openings made them look uncomfortably like open maws waiting to devour them. Garrus would have been grateful when they left the legion of pods behind, except the passage way narrowed and became nearly obstructed with weird rocky growths that bore an uncanny resemblance to roots. At times they could barely squeeze through one at a time. Garrus hated cramped quarters, no room to maneuver, no clear sight lines. He pushed Mordin ahead of him and guarded the rear since there would be no talking Shepard out of taking the lead. Her biotics would be most valuable in that position anyhow.

Garrus was so on edge he almost jumped out of his skin when Joker's voice on the radio broke the silence.

"Commander, you have to hear this." He sounded excited, but it was the wrong kind of excitement. "On a hunch, I asked EDI to run an analysis of this ship."

"I compared the EM profile against data recorded by the original Normandy two years ago," EDI said. "They an an exact match."

Shepard halted so suddenly that Mordin bumped into her.

"The same ship dogging me for two years? Way beyond coincidence."

"Something doesn't add up, Commander," Joker warned. "Watch your back."

Shepard looked back and exchanged a glance with Garrus. He didn't need the warning, everything about this smelled like a trap. The Collectors, or their Reaper masters, were still bent on getting their hands on Shepard. If it had been up to him, he would have turned around right then, but Shepard wasn't deterred.

Shepard resumed her progress towards the data node. Even without any visual cues to confirm it, Garrus felt like the cramped passage ways had been leading them gently upward. Now the route became so steep he had to brace himself against the walls with his hands to make the ascent. Mordin kept pace doggedly, but it visibly taxed him. The salarian was only a few years older than he was, but by salarian standards he was well past his prime.

The grueling ascent finally leveled off and the passage opened abruptly into a massive cavern and they halted. Garrus drew up next to Shepard, but he couldn't quite wrap his brain around what he was seeing. He knew the Collector ship was massive but this.. All his senses insisted he was a planet. He felt like he was standing at the bottom of a immense canyon, the rocky, irregular walls to either side rising far, far over his head. There was a light source in the distance that resembled a sun setting towards the horizon. The walls he could see were covered in a honeycomb grid of lights, and though the ceiling was almost too distant to make out, he could see it glowed with the same reddish hue. He lifted the scope of his gun to his eye, bringing the nearest wall closer into focus. The honeycomb grid was due to the presence of pods; the walls were studded with them like the bays below had been. So many he couldn't even estimate the scale of what he was looking at.

"This is unbelievable," Garrus said in a hushed tone.

"So many pods," Mordin said in a similar voice. "Could de-populate all Terminus Systems, still wouldn't fill them."

Garrus felt the implications of that statement like a blow. Shepard had gone so still next to him, he wasn't sure she was even breathing. He looked at the blank expression on her face and his gut twisted in sympathetic horror. They weren't going to stay in the Terminus Systems. And if they were only targeting humans, there was only one place they'd need this many pods.

"They're going to target earth," he said.

"Not if we stop them." Shepard's voice burned with the clarity of her determination. Hearing her say it with such conviction, he believed that she would.

She set off at a brisk pace down the gentle slope. The rock formations rose around them as they descended until they were surrounded on all sides by sheer cliff walls. Garrus checked his omni-tool, and his pulse quickened when he saw how close they were to the destination coordinates. He was puzzled though, there was nothing anywhere nearby in the rock that looked hackable.

The planet-like effect was ruined somewhat when the walls sprouted black metal conduits glowing with yellow light. Following the conduits lead them to a circular chasm, a dead end. This appeared to be a hub for whatever the conduits were carrying, about half a dozen of them running along the walls or curving down over the top of the cliff faces socketed into a metal platform at the center of the chasm. This had to be their data node.

"There, on the platform," Garrus said, pointing. "Looks like some sort of control panel."

Shepard was already striding towards the control panel, but Mordin followed more slowly. He looked around with a frown on his face. "Lack of Collectors seems odd. Alive or dead. Suggest caution."

Garrus had been thinking the same since they'd come on board. Aside from the dead Collectors in the lab pods, they hadn't seen any others. If they'd all died during the battle with the turians, there should have been bodies. If they were alive, it was possible they were just unaware of their entry with the power out, but accessing their system would definitely alert them that they had intruders.

"EDI, I'm setting up a bridge between you and the Collector ship," Shepard said while she networked her omni-tool with the control panel. "See if you can get anything useful from the data banks."

"Data mine in progress, Shepard."

Garrus scanned the ridge above them for any movement. They were too exposed, they'd be sitting pyjacks down here.

"Uh, that can't be good," Joker said over the comms.

"Status repor—" Shepard began when there was a loud pop, then control panel emitted a fizzing burst and went dead. Something in the conduits all around them started _moving_ but it was difficult to see what.

"Commander?" Joker asked a little anxiously.

"Everyone's alright, Joker. What just happened?"

"Major power surge," he responded. "Everything went dark, but we're back up now."

"I managed to divert the majority of the overload to non-critical systems," EDI reported.

Out of the corner of his eye Garrus saw Mordin whip his head around. Garrus followed and caught a glimpse of movement on the ridge above them, but by the time he turned it was gone. Garrus cursed himself for allowing himself to get distracted by the explosion. A moment's inattention was all it would take to be ambushed.

"Shepard," EDI was saying, "It was not a malfunction. This was a trap."

Of course it was. Garrus raised his gun scope to his eye and scanned the darkness above them for more movement. What were they waiting for? Then he stumbled as the platform jolted beneath his feet.

Oh, crap.

The platform shuddered and vibrated beneath them and slowly rose out of the ground, rotating as it did. It cleared the top of the ridge and kept rising until it was high in the air. Then it lurched and began moving laterally. Shepard and Mordin grabbed hold of the computer terminal to counteract the pull of the sudden acceleration. Garrus struggled to keep on his feet without relinquishing his grip on his weapon.

"We need a little help here, EDI," Shepard said calmly. She was the master of understatement.

"I am having trouble maintaining connection. There is someone else in the system."

There was a metallic thud and the platform stopped abruptly, its motion halted as it docked violently. Shepard and Mordin clung to their handholds but Garrus was thrown to the ground. The impact left him slightly dazed. Mordin hauled him to his feet. The slight salarian had to strain to shift his greater mass but it got him moving again. So did the sight of a platform identical to theirs flying towards them. It was on a course to dock with them. He had been right about an ambush but utterly mistaken about the form it would take.

"Connection reestablished. I need to finish the download before I can override any systems."

Garrus looked through his scope and saw armed Collectors gathered on the platform heading towards them.

"Then you'd better get it done fast, EDI." By the urgency in her voice Garrus could tell Shepard had seen them too.

Garrus shot one of the Collectors before the platform drew close enough to dock with them. But of the three of them he was the only one with long-rage weapons. There was only so much he could do before they arrived. They crouched behind the computer terminal but the platform provided scant cover.

The platform slammed into theirs, rocking the whole structure as it docked. As soon as it did Shepard vaulted over the terminal and charged towards the enemy. The Collector she crashed into was thrown clear of the platform.

"Flammable or inflammable? Forget which. Doesn't matter."

Mordin was muttering to himself beside Garrus while he tapped swiftly on his omni-tool. Then the Collectors clustered together on the platform burst into flames. They writhed painfully as the flames licked at their armor. Garrus shot as many as he could while they were incapacitated while Shepard emptied the clip of her heavy pistol into one. Mordin's fire had cracked their armor but it still took a lot of firepower to put one down.

Garrus heard the distant whine of an engine and turned to see another platform from a different direction heading their way.

"Look out," he called to Shepard. "We've got more company."

The new platform didn't dock but instead stayed mobile, wheeling around their platform while the Collectors fired at them. Shepard sprinted back to position, dodging the barrage of weapons fire the Collectors hurled her way.

"Forty-one percent complete," EDI reported. Almost halfway there.

"Assuming direct control."

"Com'on, EDI, speed it up," Shepard barked tensely.

Garrus watched the Collector drone transform into the tougher Harbinger-controlled form and his confidence dimmed a little. When they had encountered it on Horizon they'd had actual room to maneuver and the colony's fuel tanks to use as munitions. The memory of Horizon triggered an idea.

"Mordin, do that fire trick again on the big guy," he shouted over the din.

Mordin shook his head. "Incinerate ineffective on biotic barriers."

Garrus grunted in acknowledgment. "Firing a concussive shot. When the barrier comes down, it's your turn."

Garrus fired at the Harbinger drone and the high-powered round exploded against it's barriers. The drone was knocked back a step and the purple glow around it sputtered and died.

Mordin fired and said with a surprisingly wicked smile, "Here, enjoy."

The man enjoyed his work. Watching the flames that exploded out from the Collector when his projectile connected, Garrus couldn't really fault him for that. While the Collector was still engulfed in flames, Garrus tried his overload program. It had limited effect on organic, unshielded enemies but this time maybe..

The conflagration that erupted when overload met incinerate was exactly what he'd been banking on. The Collector screamed, his armor cracked and was turned to ash by the intensity of the blaze. The fire spread outward, catching the other drones on the platform and burning them badly.

"Perfect!" he shouted in triumph.

But then a third platform of Collectors arrived. And a fourth. They moved to dock on their remaining unengaged sides. The were going to be overrun.

"EDI!" Shepard bellowed.

"Eighty-four percent," was the agonizingly calm reply.

"EDI, you have to get us out of here."

"I am simultaneously fighting Collector firewalls in over eight thousand nodes. I am tasked to capacity," it replied. Garrus thought he heard a note of exasperation in the normally level tone of the AI. It was picking up bad habits from Joker.

The new platforms finished docking and the Collectors moved towards them. One of the new drones shook and glowed as Harbringer abandoned the burning husk of it's former thrall and possessed a new one.

"Here they come again!" he said. He and Mordin readied themselves to repeat their flame tactic. Shepard was left to hold off the swarm of weaker Collectors with her biotics. She sent shockwaves towards them, pushing them back by several feet each time, but they were slowly gaining ground.

"Shepard, you must manually reestablish my link to the command console."

Shepard keyed in the proper sequence between salvos. When she hit the last key EDI's spherical avatar appeared on the console. "I have regained control of the platform, Shepard."

The platform rose into the air under EDI's control. Harbinger's Collector buzzed angrily.

"Swarm their position. Overwhelm them," he ordered.

The remaining Collectors rushed towards their platform and threw themselves at the edge, trying to grab it before they rose out of reach. They gunned several of them down before they reached the platform, their haste turning them into easy targets. Several more got through and leapt towards them, their wings thrumming with the effort to stay aloft. Most felt short of their target and fell back to the ground, but one clung to the edge of the platform and tried to hoist itself up. It shuddered and cracked as Harbinger possessed it, then looked directly at Shepard with eerily glowing eyes.

"You cannot escape your destiny, Shepard," he said.

"Don't count on it."

Shepard's hands glowed and she used her biotics to pull Harbinger loose. It floated in the grip of her power, wheeling its arms in impotent rage before gravity reasserted itself and it plummeted out of sight. Shepard slumped against the console.

"I knew you wouldn't let us down, EDI."

"I always work at optimal capacity." Damned AI sounded almost smug.

"Did you get what we needed?"

"I found the data that could help us successfully navigate the Omega-4 relay. I have also found the turian distress call that served as the lure for this trap. The Collectors were the source." Then EDI paused. "It was unusual."

Walking into the Collector's trap would all be worth it if they could find a way through the relay. They'd still need to find the Collector homeworld on the other side, but this was progress and it was much needed.

Shepard had taken note of EDI's pause and frowned. "Unusual? Seems logical to me that they would have sent the initial message as bait."

"No, it is unusual because turian emergency channels have secondary encryption. It is corrupted in this message. It is not possible that the Illusive Man would believe the distress call was genuine."

Shepard glanced at Garrus as if to confirm EDI's information and he nodded slightly.

"Why are you so sure?" Shepard asked EDI.

"I found the anomaly with Cerberus detection protocols. He wrote them."

Shepard seemed suspicious of EDI's statement and Garrus was as well. EDI was a Cerberus AI and Garrus trusted it would obey its Cerberus programming. He trusted it to perform it's functions on the Normandy, one of which was no doubt to spy on Shepard and report her activities back to the Illusive Man. Shepard had made no bones about the fact that she didn't trust him, but here it was, revealing information that would potentially damage their relationship further. Interesting.

"He knew it was a trap?" They heard Joker ask EDI over the comms. "Why would he send us into a trap?"

"Behavior within norms for Cerberus," Mordin noted clinically. "Not unexpected."

"And here I thought I'd had my betrayal and attempted murder for this year," Garrus drawled.

"We don't have time to throw blame around," Shepard said briskly. "We'll question him when we're out."

"This is a bad time to become an optimist, Shepard."

"I've always been an optimist, Garrus."

The platform sank towards the ground as it returned to where they began. Garrus stared behind them, expecting pursuit. There was no way the Collectors would go to this much trouble to set a trap and just let them walk out again.

As if on cue, Joker came back on the comms. "Uh.. Commander we've got another problem. The Collector ship is powering up. You need to get out of there before their weapons come online. I'm not losing another Normandy!"

"Afraid the Illusive Man won't just make you a new one, Joker?" Garrus asked. "I'm sure the that son of a bitch considered that before he sent us right into Collector hands."

"Stow the snark, Garrus," Shepard ordered. "Trying not to die here. EDI, are you still in their system?"

"I do not have full control. I will do what I can. Sending coordinates for shuttle extraction."

Garrus checked the coordinates EDI sent and winced. They weren't that far from the place they'd come in. That was going to be a long way back.

"C'mon, let's move," Shepard instructed.

They went down the narrow passageway at a run, skidding along the steepest portions when they lost their footing. When the passageway leveled off it branched, heading in several directions. They hadn't been concerned with finding the shortest route on their way in and Garrus wasn't sure if returning exactly the way they'd come was really the best plan. EDI was in the system now, and she must have been able to access the internal schematics of the ship.

"Around the corner," EDI directed them. "Take the door on your right."

Shepard swung towards the door EDI had indicated and they followed. They passed through another passage way littered with empty pods until they came to a large room crammed with humming conduits and glowing equipment of some unfathomable purpose. The Collector ship was definitely waking up. They started to head across the room, looking for a way out, when Collectors stormed towards them. They dove behind a glassy black piece of equipment to take shelter from the barrage of weapons fire. There were only a few though, a scouting party maybe. A few well-placed shots and they were down.

Shepard flew towards the exit without hesitation and barreled down another ramp and into the large chamber below. More Collectors flew down from the upper level they'd just left and outflanked them. They wove between the large rocky columns that extended from the high ceiling to the floor, popping out to shoot the Collectors in their way.

"If I must tear you apart, Shepard, I will."

Harbinger again. Garrus definitely preferred the Collectors that couldn't speak. Harbinger's threat caused the unwelcome image of the bodies they'd found earlier to flicker through his mind. Again he saw the mangled, detached limbs, piled in a heap. He saw the body still wearing its armor again but instead of the white Systems Alliance gear his imagination changed it to black, one arm striped with white and red, with N7 embossed on the chest. He saw Shepard's face as scarred as it was on Omega, muscles slack and eyes glassy, staring sightlessly.

Not this time. The Collectors had killed her once, but he'd be damned if he let them kill her again. He sighted down his scope and put a bullet right between Harbinger's eyes. The Collector stumbled, but it's armor ensured it wasn't fatal. Still, it made Garrus felt a little better.

"I'm opening a door on the far side of the room," EDI announced.

They fought through the Collector lines towards the door. Garrus generally disapproved of leaving enemies at his back but this was a strategic retreat. Shepard lead the push towards the door but stopped when a throng of husks ran through the door. Instead of the their usual blue glowing synthetics these husks were red. The fastest husk reached Shepard before they could react and grabbed her. She elbowed it hard in the face but it maintained it's grip. The Collectors had closed ranks behind them and moved forward, driving them into the husks. Garrus slowed their advance with his assault rifle but the rest of the husks were gaining ground quickly. Mordin fired an incineration blast into their midst and caught several of them at once. The first husk exploded and the flames jumped outward to catch more of the husks in the blaze Then the husk grappling with Shepard exploded in a gout of flames before Mordin's blast had even reached it and Garrus realized why these husks were red. The rest of the flaming husks exploded and their own accelerants whipped the firestorm into a maelstrom. The inferno swept over them in a searing blaze of suffocating heat. Garrus gasped for breath as the flames licked at his armor. The blaze died out and Garrus looked up frantically from his hunched position. He'd caught only the tail end of the blaze but Shepard had been exposed to the full force.

Shepard lay prostrate on the ground, unmoving. Her armor was covered in soot and the fire had burned through it in places. Garrus drug himself towards her, but Mordin beat him there. The salarian was barely singed, he had been crouched behind one of the rocky columns when the fire started and escaped the worst of the blaze. He hunkered down next to Shepard and applied medi-gel to her wounds. Shepard hissed loudly in pain and swore viciously. Garrus almost went limp with relief. The stream of profanity that meant she wasn't too seriously wounded.

Shepard pushed Mordin's hands away and he murmured in disapproval, "Must prevent infection, Shepard."

Shepard heaved herself to wobbly feet and moaned in pain. "Infection won't matter if we're dead," she gasped. She tapped out a command on her omni-tool and shuddered, her eyes closing briefly. Garrus guessed by the way her posture straightened that she had analgesics flooding her system.

The fire had kept the Collectors back but they moved towards them again. Shepard lurched towards the door when they suddenly slammed shut. Shepard howled in frustration, then gritted over the comms, "EDI, we have a problem here."

"A temporary setback on firewall 3217. Re-routing commands through firewall 7164."

The Collectors were almost upon them. Garrus brought his assault rifle to bear and Mordin added his sub-machine gun fire to the effort. A couple of Collectors went down twitching, shot through the legs, but there were more behind them. Garrus' desperation grew as the number of shots left in his termal clip dwindled. They couldn't keep this up much longer.

"I have successfully opened a door on the opposite wall," EDI said and relief washed over him. "I will keep it open as long as I can."

Shepard spun and headed towards the door. She teetered a bit unsteadily and her gait was less swift than usual. The analgesics had gotten her moving again but Garrus could see they were taking a toll on her reflexes. She tried to vault over a low wall between her and the door but she lost her footing and slid to the floor. Close behind her, Garrus bent down and hauled her to her feet again. He slid one arm around her back and swept her along with him.

Once through the door it slammed shut behind them, though from the way it would open a few inches and slam shut again Garrus guessed that the Collectors were fighting EDI for control. The passage way twisted around and opened up onto a high ledge. Glancing down Garrus saw familiar pods and equipment.

"Down there, he said, "That's where we came in."

"Getting close to the end," Mordin agreed.

Shepard shook off Garrus' supportive arm and pushed forward. Garrus was really starting to hate this place. The passages all looked the same and twisted and turned so much they confounded his sense of direction. They followed the ledge until they came to another closed door. It slid open as they approached and they cautiously moved into the chamber on the other side. They had to ascend a ramp, which felt frustratingly like the wrong direction to be heading. Plus he hated feeling like he had the low ground.

They reached the top of the ramp and crept slowly through the room. It was a large room but poorly lit by a blue light source. Garrus scanned the room restlessly, waiting for more Collectors to attack. The rocky lattice structures climbing from the floor to the ceiling cast strange shadows. He kept thinking he saw movement out of the corner of his eye, only to turn and find nothing there.

They reached the other end of the room without incident and Garrus relaxed by a fraction. There was another narrow passageway, this one leading down. Down was good, down felt right. They picked up their pace slightly to a jog, when suddenly around the curve ahead of them came a howling mass of black bodies. Garrus was slammed into the wall in the grip of a husk, it's decaying hands scrabbled at his armor for purchase. Garrus shoved the husk away with all his strength, slamming it in turn against the opposite wall with a sickening crunch. It slumped to the ground. He felt a sudden buffeting pressure in his ears and was battered into the wall by the backlash of Shepard's biotic shockwave in the confines of the narrow corridor. But so were the husks, and they fared far worse. Their decaying bodies burst and splattered the walls.

"Uh, Commander?" Joker said with sarcastic impatience. "Hate to rush you but those weapons are about to come online. Might want to double-time it so we can leave before they blow the Normandy in half."

Shepard grunted in acknowledgment but had no time to answer. There were more husks coming. They mobbed Shepard and Mordin ahead of him. Garrus waded into the fray and slashed the dark bodies with his talons. With husks all around them Shepard didn't dare try another shockwave, but she pulled husks into the air in between blows from her fists. Garrus tried to reach Mordin, certain the salarian would be quickly overwhelmed. Except every husk that Mordin touched writhed and twitched violently before collapsing to the floor. There was a brief lull as the last of the husks were killed and Garrus eyed Mordin thoughtfully. Mordin noticed his attention and grinned sharply.

"Thought I was helpless, did you?" Mordin asked him.

"No, no," he said quickly, then admitted, "Maybe a little."

They heard the moaning roar of more husks approaching and they turned to face them. Garrus wondered if these were the stolen colonists, then quickly banished the thought. He really didn't want to think about that.

"We're out of time, Commander!" Joker barked anxiously. "It's time to go!"

"You heard the man!" Shepard said, squaring her shoulders. "Move!"

She charged the leading edge of the mass, blowing it back and hitting several others in the process. Then she jumped back a few steps and unleashed another shockwave, sweeping the rest before her with it's force. She broke into a run, blowing past the hands that tried to grab her. Mordin followed, jolting them with what must be some sort of neural shock device while Garrus overloaded their synthetics. They quickly reached the bottom of the slope where spirits preserve them, there was the shuttle. He had been half-afraid the Collectors would have destroyed it. Shepard stopped at the door and waved them in.

"Everybody on!" she shouted.

Mordin got on first, then Garrus, and finally Shepard hauled herself on last. Garrus threw himself behind the controls while Shepard resealed the side hatch. He plotted a course to rendevous with the Normandy while keeping one eye on the Collector ship. The lights along the hull that had been dead when they'd arrived flickered on as the ship slowly came back to life.

Garrus steered the kodiak into the cargo bay too quickly, he slammed it into one of the bulkheads and landed with a clumsy jolt, toppling an unsecured Shepard to the ground. Joker had started the Normandy moving as soon as they'd cleared the bay door but before they could land. He wasn't messing around.

"Strap in, people!" Joker announced over the ship-wide PA system. "Gonna make them work for it this time."

Shepard rolled back to her feet and threw open the shuttle door, despite the way it continued to slide around. EDI had to be diverting some of the power from the inertial dampeners to the engines. Garrus jumped out after Shepard and saw that the cargo bay door was still closing. Through the glow of the environmental seal across the opening he could see the Collector ship behind them. The main battery glowed incandescently, then a pulse of energy erupted from it. Garrus swayed on his feet as the Normandy swung away from the path of the beam. The door finished clamping shut and it cut off his view. He and Shepard ran for the elevator. Shepard jammed the button for the command deck forcefully, then tried to pace within the narrow confines of the elevator. After the second time she trod on his foot Garrus put his hands on her shoulders to keep her in place.

"That's not helping," he said.

Shepard pulled off her helmet to glare at him, her body quivering. Whether in her thwarted need to move or from exhaustion he couldn't be sure. She should really be heading to the medbay, she wasn't going to be of any real help on the bridge. He was too smart to say so though.

The elevator door slid open when they reached the command deck and Shepard sprinted up to the cockpit. As they drew near Garrus could hear Joker shouting at EDI.

"Can't dodge this guy forever, EDI." Joker's hands flew over the controls and Garrus lurched to the side again as the Normandy swung out of another pulse of Collector fire. Shepard hung onto the back of Joker's seat and watched the Collector ship advancing towards them through the viewscreen.

"Get us the hell out of here!" he demanded.

"Specify a destination, Mr. Moreau," was EDI's calm reply.

"Anywhere that's not here!"

"Very well. Engaging mass effect core."

Garrus felt one last wrench of changing momentum and then the abrupt calmness of full inertial dampening descended as EDI engaged the mass effect core. Garrus swallowed and tried to calm the faint, lingering motion sickness.

"Damage report, EDI?" Shepard asked.

"We sustained no damage, Shepard," the AI replied.

"And the data?" she asked. "Can it be trusted or was it part of the Collector trap?"

"I believe it to be genuine."

"Good."

Joker craned his head around to look at Shepard, "Call coming in from the Illusive Man, commander. Figure you've got a few words for him too."

"More than a few," she growled through clenched teeth. Garrus followed as she stalked back through the CIC towards the conference room. "You sure you want to talk to him like this?" He gestured at her burns.

"Let him see what his actions caused."

"What happened to not jumping to conclusions?" he asked mildly.

Shepard snorted. "That was while we were getting shot at. Now is the time for some conclusions. That son of a bitch sent us right into Collector hands and we all know it."

The doors of the conference room barely opened fast enough for her to sweep through in her ire. She stepped into her end of the QEC device and folded her arms while she waited for the connection to complete. When it did they saw the Illusive Man sitting in his usual spot.

"Shepard," he greeted her. "Looks like EDI extracted some interesting data before the Collector ship came back online."

"And EDI told us the distress call originated from the Collectors," she spit angrily. She leaned accusingly towards his image. "You betrayed us. Just like I knew you would."

"We're at war," he explained condescendingly. "The Collectors are taking humans and every minute we waste is one more we give the enemy to prepare."

"I know the stakes," she snapped. "But we're supposed to be on the same side and I can't trust you."

The Illusive Man took a long drag on his cigarette and turned casually to stub it out. He didn't give off even the slightest whiff of apology and Garrus found that completely galling.

"Without that information, we don't reach the Collector homeworld. And you and every other human may as well be dead."

Shepard hissed, clearly incensed and the Illusive Man stood to forestall whatever she was about to say. "It was a trap," he admitted. "But I was confident in your abilities. And don't forget EDI. The Collectors couldn't have anticipated her."

"You could have told me the plan. You say I'm important, but you sure try hard to get me killed."

"I needed the Collectors to believe they had the upper hand. Telling you could've tipped them off in any number of ways. Besides, I wouldn't have sent you in if I didn't think you could succeed. As much as we try to avoid them, these decisions need to be made."

"They're my decisions to make," Shepard growled. "You have one job—information. If I can't trust your intel, you're useless to me."

The Illusive Man frowned at Shepard's tone. "It's never that simple. You of all people should know that."

Shepard shook her head sharply and said, "I know that I'll be a lot more careful. With the Collectors, and with you."

"This is no time for petty grudges," The Illusive Man sat back down and smoothed the annoyance from his face. "You may not like being on the receiving end—neither would I—but the facts are with me. More importantly, it paid off. EDI confirmed our suspicions. The Reapers and the Collector ships use an advanced Identify Friend/Foe system that the relays recognize. All we need to do is get our hands on one of those IFFs."

"Confirmed your suspicions? I was just on the Collector Ship!" Shepard gestured angrily behind her. "Why didn't you say anything about finding their IFF?"

"As I said," he reminded her with exaggerated patience, "EDI just confirmed it. Besides, you wouldn't have had time to find and extract it. But we have options." He picked up a tumbler of liquid from somewhere out of sight and gestured with it while he spoke. "An Alliance science team recently determined that the 'Great Rift' on the planet Klandagon is actually an impact crater from a mass accelerator weapon."

The Illusive Man drained the liquid in the tumbler in one long drink. Shepard's angry posture relaxed slightly as he spoke. Garrus could see her anger being subsumed as her mind shifted focus to the new problem she was being presented.

"A very old mass accelerator," The Illusive Man went on. "I sent a team to find either the weapon or its target. They found both. The weapon was defunct, but it helped us plot the flight path of the intended target: a thirty-seven million year old derelict Reaper. We found it damaged and trapped in the gravity of a brown dwarf."

Garrus sucked in a surprised breath. A derelict Reaper? Until Sovereign had attacked the Citadel no one had ever found a shred of evidence that they existed. Shepard had battled the Council over their existence until one was right on their doorstep and even then, they didn't believe, not really. Garrus wondered how the Alliance was going to feel about Cerberus swiping the fruits of their research. Another charge they'd no doubt lay at Shepard's feet.

"Aren't brown dwarfs basically stars that didn't make it?" she asked.

"Simply put," the Illusive Man replied. "But accurate. They're gas giants that don't quite have the masses of stars. Expect gale-force winds and extremely high temperatures. The Reaper has a mass effect field that keeps it in orbit. Likely an automated response to the external threats. It's stable, but I won't call it safe."

A mass effect field that had been stable for more than fifty-thousand years seemed like a lot more than an automated response.

"I saw what Sovereign did to the Citadel fleet. Hard to imagine anything could stop something that powerful," Shepard mused.

"This vessel is a relic from a battle waged while mammals took their first steps on earth." He paused to light another cigarette, a faraway look on his face. "There's no trace of the species that took the shot. Perhaps it was their one moment of defiance before being wiped out."

Garrus should have guessed the Illusive Man would have a romantic streak. Megalomaniacs almost always had a reverence for the majestic sweep of history. Where they differed from an academic like Liara was in the arrogance that drove them to believe they were meant to define it. The Illusive Man thought he was meant to be the savior of humanity.

Shepard ruined the moment with her signature brand of snarky practicality. "I get the feeling this isn't going to be a simple, 'swing by and pick up our package.'"

The Illusive Man smiled thinly. "We lost contact with Doctor Chandana's team shortly after they boarded. Initial reconnaissance revealed no clues and it was too risky to commit more resources—but now we _need_ that IFF. I'll forward the coordinates to Joker. In the mean time, I suggest you tell your crew I didn't risk their lives unnecessarily. It will make things easier going forward."

The connection broke and the lights came back up in the conference room. Shepard leaned heavily on the conference table as it rose back into it's customary position.

"I'll be damned if I do anything to make things easier for that man," Garrus declared.

Shepard just smiled at him tiredly and said, "EDI, tell the crew to assemble. We have a lot to talk about."

"EDI," Garrus said quickly, "Tell them to assemble _after_ Shepard goes to the medbay."

Shepard raised an eyebrow and asked archly, "Is that subordination I hear, Vakarian?"

"No, insubordination would be me telling you that you look like shit."

"Mister Vakarian's assessment of your condition is accurate, Shepard," EDI chimed.

"And now my own ship is ganging up on me," Shepard complained. She scowled at him but didn't fight when he tugged her to the door.

Shepard laughed and laughed when after depositing her at the medbay, Garrus also found himself subject to the tender mercies of their ship's physician.

"Did you honestly think you were going to be able to leave her here without being seen yourself?" Doctor Chakwas asked as she gently, but firmly, pushed him onto the other exam table. She stood between their beds and glared down at them both, her hands on her hips. "Soldiers. So willing to charge into danger, but you always balk at getting medical treatment."

Chakwas scanned Shepard first with the medical equipment. She hissed in sympathy when she saw the readout of Shepard's injuries. "You have second and third degree burns, and a twisted ankle," Chakwas reported.

"Husks," Shepard offered as an explanation. "The Collectors have some that explode when they grab you."

Chakwas just shook her head and went to work. "This armor is done for," she said as she ran some equipment over Shepard's injuries. "But the dermal regenerator should do for the burns. However I strongly urge you to get some rest, your body still has to do much of the work. As for you," she said and turned to examine Garrus. She studied the results of her scan and frowned slightly. "You seem to have emerged largely intact. A few deep contusions are the worst of it." She turned Garrus' head gently, examining the older injury. "Does this still bother you?"

"Sometimes, but just a little," he admitted.

"You'll have to keep the cybernetic implants a bit longer, but you're healing beautifully. The day will come when you can do without them."

"Don't tell me I'll lose the scars, doc," he joked.

Chakwas smiled at him with tolerant amusement, "They do give you a certain rakish appeal, I suppose. You seem to be fine, but I would appreciate it if you stayed to watch this one." She eyed Shepard balefully. "If I know her, she'll be up as soon as I turn my back and I'm needed elsewhere. Don't make me give you a sedative, Shepard."

Shepard made a token protest but judging by her slowing blink rate, she was feeling the effects of the doctor's treatments. She looked like she was half asleep already. Once Chakwas was out the door and safely out of earshot she rolled her head languidly on her shoulders to look at him. "So are you gonna bust me out of here?"

"Not a chance. Doc said to rest. If that Reaper has really been out there for fifty-thousand years, it'll wait a little longer."

Shepard blew out an annoyed breath. "If we survive the trip through the Omega Relay, we cut ties with Cerberus. Illusive Man's not going to like that."

Garrus chuckled and got up from his own bed to sit beside Shepard on hers. "Whatever happens with the Collectors or the Reapers or whoever else comes after us, I know you'll get the job done."

She smiled wryly at him and asked, "Do you actually think we'll find something worse than Collectors or Reapers?"

Garrus shrugged. "I like to expect the worst, there's a small chance I'll be pleasantly surprised." He lifted his head to gaze out through the medbay windows. There were a number of Cerberus personnel gathered in the mess hall. They joked and laughed with the forced levity he'd learned to recognize as a human coping mechanism. Every new report of Collector attacks and every step closer they got to traversing the relay wound the crew a little bit tighter. Having been on the Collector ship he could privately admit that the odds against them seemed even worse than he'd initially assessed.

"It's strange going into a suicide mission on a human ship," he commented idly. "Your people don't prepare for high-risk operations the way turians do."

"I thought you'd be used to high risk operations on human ships," Shepard said. "I mean, think about tracking Saren to Ilos."

"Sure, but that was quick. We raced out, landed, blew up some geth and saved the galaxy."

Shepard chuckled a little at his blase summary of what had been a grueling and costly battle.

"This time we've got Miranda, and Cerberus, and that AI all telling us what we're up against." Garrus shook his head. "I think I preferred blind optimism."

"Honestly, Garrus," she asked seriously, "What do you think our chances are?"

"Honestly? An unmapped area, advanced technology, and the Collectors?" He looked out at the Cerberus crew again and she turned her head to follow his gaze. "We're going to lose people. No way around that."

The sadness on her face tugged at him. She took the burdens of command seriously. He knew every death would weigh heavily on her. On an impulse he reached out and tried to smooth away the furrowed lines that had appeared on her brow.

"Not a happy analysis, I know," he said. "Don't worry, I won't spread it around. And I'm with you, regardless."

Shepard turned onto her side and pillowed her head comfortably on one folded arm, the other draped across her abdomen. She curved her body around his hip where he sat on the bed next to her and looked at him intently. "Do you ever regret leaving C-Sec or the turian military?"

"Not for a minute," he reassured her. "When it comes down to it Shepard, I don't think I'm a very good turian. When a good turian hears a bad order, he follows it. He might complain, but he knows his place." He shook his head slightly and continued, "I just don't see the point in staying quiet and polite. Not when the galaxy is at stake."

"So how do turian crews get ready for high-risk missions?" she asked.

"With violence, usually." She raised an eyebrow at that and he shrugged. "Turian ships have more operational discipline than your Alliance, but fewer personal restrictions. Our commanders run us tight and know we need to blow off steam. Turian ships have training rooms for exercise, combat sims, even full-contact sparring. Whatever lets people work off stress."

"You mean turian ships have people _fighting_ each other before a mission?"

"It's supervised, of course. No one is going to risk an injury that interferes with the mission. And it's a good way to settle grudges amicably."

Shepard moved the arm draped across her front up to rest on her hip while he spoke and his eye was involuntarily drawn by the movement. It sparked a memory. Without really thinking about it he said, "I remember right before one mission.."

He paused, flustered, when he realized what story he had started to tell. It wasn't an embarrassing story but he felt odd telling it to her specifically. Too late to back out though, Shepard had raised her head in interest. She propped herself up on her elbow and waited for him to continue.

"We were about to hit a batarian pirate squad," he said. "Very risky. This recon scout and I had been at each other's throats. Nerves, mostly. She suggested we settle it in the ring."

Shepard smirked. "I assume you took her down gently?"

Garrus chuckled ruefully, "Actually she and I were the top-ranked hand-to-hand specialists on the ship. I had reach, but she had flexibility. It was _brutal_. After nine rounds the judge called it a draw. There were a lot of unhappy betters in the training room."

"And in the ring? A draw doesn't sound very satisfying for the combatants either."

Garrus looked away from her, squirming slightly with embarrassment. Spirits, why was he telling her this story? He looked back at the expectant look on Shepard's face and forged on.

"We, ah, ended up holding a tie-breaker in her quarters. I had reach, but, uh, she had flexibility." He chuckled awkwardly. Shepard's laugh was low and throaty and only intensified his discomfiture. "More than one way to work off stress, I guess," he finished lamely.

"And how do turians feel about fraternization?"

"The commanders don't _encourage_ it but.." He shrugged. "In desperate times, people sleep with each other."

"These are pretty desperate times," Shepard said with an odd smile.

"Absolutely. But don't worry, I'll be ready for the mission."

Shepard let out a soft sound of amusement. She chewed her lower lip thoughtfully, then said, "It sounds like you're carrying some tension."

Something about the deliberate way she said that made him very, very nervous.

"Maybe," she suggested, "I could help you get rid of it."

For a split second, Garrus' mind went completely blank. There was no way she was suggesting what he thought she was suggesting. Was there? No, no, he had to be getting that wrong. His pulse sped up anyway.

"I, uh, didn't think you'd feel like sparring, Commander," he said, knowing he sounded stiff. A brief expression of frustration flickered across her face. Uh oh, had he offended her?

"I mean, uh, you didn't think the crew fighting was a good idea so.." he stopped talking when Shepard laid her hand on his arm and slowly trailed her fingers up from his wrist to his elbow.

"What if we skipped right to the tie-breaker?" she asked. "We could test your reach and my flexibility."

Between the hand on his arm and the provocative smile that slowly bloomed on her face, he was left with no room for misinterpretation.

"Oh! I didn't.. Huh." He stammered. He sounded like an idiot but he was completely thrown by her proposal. "Never knew you had a weakness for men with scars," he joked weakly, half-expecting Shepard to laugh too and say she was just kidding. She didn't though. The part of his brain that always assessed the risk of a situation started screaming at him about all the ways things could go wrong. Never mind that sleeping with your commanding officer was tricky under the best of circumstances but they weren't even the same _species_. Was it even _possible_?

The logical part of his brain was losing the battle against parts of him that were newly aware of the ways her body was currently curled around his. She let her hand drift down from his elbow down to his leg and he almost jumped. He couldn't even really feel her hand through his armor but that didn't seem to matter to his overheated imagination.

"Well.." he started to say, trying to force away everything that wasn't rational, but the sensible words of refusal died in his throat. Thane's words to him in the mess came back to him. What good was worrying about how this might effect their future when it was entirely possible there wouldn't be one? He'd never allowed himself to think of her as anything other than a friend before. He hadn't needed anything more from her but now... he was surprised to realize he _wanted_ what she was offering.

What _was_ she offering? Physical release. This didn't have to be complicated if he didn't make it complicated.

"Why the hell not?" he replied, striving for casual enthusiasm. "There's no one in this galaxy I respect more than you. If we can figure out a way to make it work then.. Yeah. Definitely."

Her grin widened and he felt a rush of confidence. He needed a plan, but he was good at that. He could study the problem carefully, determine a plan of attack. He automatically started making a mental checklist.

"I'll find some music and do some research to figure out how this thing should work. It'll either be a night to treasure or a horrible inter-species awkwardness thing."

Shepard rolled her eyes and shook her head minutely. Damn, that was the wrong thing to say.

"In which case fighting the Collectors will be a welcome distraction," he joked, trying to recover. "So you know, a win either way."

Shepard relaxed back onto the exam bed and stretched a little. "So when should I book the room?" she asked sleepily.

"I'd wait if you're okay with it," he stalled. He tried to squelch the brief burst of panic he felt at setting a concrete time. "We should disrupt the crew as little as possible, take that last chance to find the calm just before the storm. You know me," he quipped. "I always like to savor the last shot before popping the heat sink."

There was a long pause as his brain caught with his mouth. "Wait, that metaphor just went somewhere _horrible_."

Shepard just smirked and he reached out a tentative hand to stroke her hair. That was something humans did, right? His anxiety faded a little when she closed her eyes and made a little noise of appreciation. He'd always sort of wondered what human hair felt like. It was extremely flexible, and so soft. He rolled one lock between his fingers and felt the tiny individual strands. It was a stark reminder that what little he knew about turian women wasn't applicable here at all and he got nervous all over again. What the hell were they going to do?

Shepard curled her fingers around his free hand. "You worry too much, Garrus," she yawned.

"Like I said, I like to expect the worst."

She opened one eye a crack and regarded him. "I am confident you will be pleasantly surprised."

She closed her eye again and this time she drifted off to sleep.

Spirits, but he wished he were as sure.

Garrus watched her sleep for awhile. The hand holding his had slackened but he was too stunned by their conversation to move.

"She actually dropped off, did she?"

Garrus was startled out of his reverie by Chakwas' voice. He half-turned to look at the doctor where she was standing in the doorway in time to see her gaze move from her patient's face to their linked hands. The barest of smiles curved her lips and Garrus got hastily to his feet.

"I uh, I was just going."

"Please, don't let me intrude, Vakarian," Chakwas protested.

"It's fine, really. I think the guns need calibrating."

Garrus retreated, keeping his gaze on his feet and distinctly away from Chakwas' amused expression. He only bumped into a couple of things on his way out.


	11. Celestial Navigation

If Shepard didn't arrive at the briefing soon, Garrus was convinced a fight was going to break out. Jack and Miranda glared at each other from opposite ends of the long table, about as far apart as they could be. But since they were still in the same room, it was still far too close. Hell, being on the same _deck_ was probably too close for those two. And just having Grunt in the room would have made it feel small, so with everyone else there it felt downright claustrophobic. The large krogan was restive, making the space issue even worse. He fidgeted, which was too small a word to describe the krogan's movements. The only person brave enough to be near him was Samara. She radiated a calm confidence that even Grunt wouldn't test. She had probably dealt with her fair share of krogan in her long life. Kasumi and Tali were talking quietly to one another, while Zaeed looked about as bored as it was possible to look. Mordin was discussing something with Thane, or rather, Mordin was discussing something _at_ Thane who nodded occasionally with tolerant politeness. Jacob stood next to Miranda, making that the default head of the table with arms folded and an impassive expression. He swung around when the doors opened and Shepard strode through.

"So the Illusive Man didn't sell us out," Jacob said sarcastically. "Could've fooled me."

The cracks in Jacob's loyalty to Cerberus were widening in the wake of the Illusive Man's risky manipulation tactics. Garrus wondered what Jacob would do if he survived the mission against the Collectors.

"Lied to us. Used us. Needed access to the Collector data banks," Mordin said and shrugged. "Necessary risk."

Leave it to Mordin to be so dispassionate about betrayal, even with his own life hung in the balance, he came down on the side of the ends justifying the means.

"He tries something like that again and the Collectors will be the least of his problems," Shepard promised.

Her eyes scanned from one person to another with a quick and assessing glance. Garrus straightened up involuntarily when her eyes met his and a fleeting smile played across her face. She looked much better for having a few hours of sleep under her belt. Garrus he realized he was staring and looked around surreptitiously to see if anyone had noticed. They were all focused on Shepard too. Right, because she was running the briefing. He felt like an idiot, he was worrying about perfectly normal behavior seeming odd to anyone else. He'd been concerned about causing a disruption to the crew, but the only one on the crew being disrupted was him.

 _Focus on the mission, Vakarian. Collectors. Derelict Reaper. Right._

"Let's just hope this IFF works," Shepard said.

"My analysis is accurate, Shepard." EDI replied. "I have also determined the approximate location of the Collector homeworld based on navigational data from their vessel."

The holo of the Normandy floating over the center of the table disappeared and was replaced by a map of the galaxy. A red reticule moved from the system where they'd encountered the Collector and moved across the map tracing the path EDI's analysis had determined until it came to rest in the exact center.

Miranda frowned and said, "That can't be right," at the same time Jack said, "No fucking way!"

"Better run the diagnostics, Joker," Shepard said. "Looks like our AI's got a bug in the software."

"My calculations are correct. The Collector homeworld is located within the galactic core."

"Can't be," Jacob argued. "The core is just black holes and exploding suns. There are no habitable planets there."

Mordin rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Could be an artificial construction. Space station protected by powerful mass effect fields and radiation shields."

Tali shook her head dismissively. "Even the Collectors don't have that kind of technology."

"The Collectors are just servants of our real enemy," Shepard said. "And we've seen what their masters are capable of. The Reapers built the Mass relays and the Citadel. Who's to say they can't build a space station surrounded by black holes."

Garrus grunted in agreement with Shepard's assessment and Tali slowly nodded in concession. They three had more first-hand knowledge of what the Reapers could do than anyone else here. The others looked around at each other, as if for the first time wondering what exactly they'd signed on for.

Jacob shook his head in wonder, "No wonder no one's returned from a trip through the Omega 4 mass relay."

"The logical conclusion is that a small safe zone exists on the far side of the relay," EDI reported. "A region where ships can survive. Standard relay transit protocols would not allow safe transit. Drift of several thousand kilometers is common and would be fatal in the galactic core. The Reaper IFF must trigger the relay to use more advanced, encrypted protocols."

"Just because we can follow the Collectors through the relay doesn't mean we can take them out," Shepard pointed out. "I don't want to go after them until I _know_ we're ready."

"Sooner or later we need that IFF," Zaeed said. "Sitting around on our bums just gives those bastards time to attack more colonies."

"It's a derelict _Reaper_ ," Miranda said forcefully. "What if the Collectors are waiting for us?"

"Battlemaster, your krant is strong," Grunt growled. "I wish to spill the blood of our enemies."

Shepard gave Grunt a thin smile. "Noted."

"It's your call, Commander," Jacob said. "Whatever you decide, we're with you."

"Once we get the IFF, we'll have a clear shot at the Collectors. You all know the odds are against us coming back." Shepard looked at all of them meaningfully. "This team needs to be strong if we want to have any chance of success. We have a few more things to do before I feel ready to take on the Collectors, but this is the final stretch, people. The next few days may very well be your last chance to take care of any personal business you have left."

Everyone was somber when the meeting broke up. They'd all been preparing in their own way but the day of reckoning had never felt as imminent as it did right now. Without a clear path to their goal the timeline had been too uncertain to exert any real pressure. Now they could see the end and it loomed uncomfortably large. Garrus guessed everyone would be scrambling to get things done.

For Garrus, that meant research. He had a very basic command of human anatomy. He knew where the major organs were located, the general placement of joints and areas of maximum blood flow; basically his knowledge began and ended with what a sniper needed to know to aim his shots to cause maximum damage. That knowledge would be completely insufficient for any task more.. interesting. He had absolutely no idea about the specifics of female anatomy. But he was hampered by the distinct lack of privacy available on the Normandy. He needed a console. His omni-tool was fine for accessing messages but it lacked the capacity for thorough extranet searches. Outside of traveling to a station, the port lounge was about the only decent possibility.

Garrus entered the observation room and looked around furtively. The far wall was taken up entirely by a window, allowing for a spectacular view of space. One side of the room had been outfitted with a bar, couches, and an entertainment console, including an extranet console. The other side of the room had been turned into a makeshift bedroom for Kasumi and was strewn with the thief's personal effects. Garrus was certain all of those items were stolen, and he had to suppress long-ingrained C-Sec training to not confiscate the lot of it.

He didn't see Kasumi anywhere in the room, and he let out the breath he had been holding. Still, he angled the console so the display was turned away from the door and so he could keep an eye out in case anyone came in. Most of the crew avoided the lounge now that Kasumi had taken up residence there but he still had to be careful.

Garrus sat at the extranet console, his fingers poised over the keys and realized he didn't know where to start. Or rather, he couldn't bring himself to enter the most logical search phrases. He knew he couldn't be the first turian to consider having sex with a human. There were probably whole extranet chat forums devoted to the subject. If a species had genitals there was at least one member of every other species with genitals who'd thought about how to have sex with it. Lack of information wasn't the problem. Bringing himself to read that information.. Maybe he should just start with the basics. He called up a primer on human anatomy and began to read.

Turian and human anatomy was wildly different in many ways. His species had evolved on a world subject to far high levels of solar radiation. Most species on Palaven had some kind of protection against it, turians had a metallic exoskeleton, as well as a number defensive spiny processes, and talons. Humans, by comparison, seemed so squishy. The skin over their entire body was soft and supple, they lacked hard edges of any sort. And just how many fingers did a species need? Five on each hand really seemed excessive.

Garrus was intensely relieved to note though that the relevant anatomy was fairly analogous. Both human and turian females bore live young, in that way their two species were similar. But were they similar enough? Garrus had to concede he wouldn't find the answers he needed if he just stuck to basic anatomy. He called up a few articles on human sexual response, sticking to the academic sources. It was pretty dry reading, which was about all he could handle just then. He needed facts, not fancy. His own imagination provided plenty of the latter. Just the thought of Shepard tied him up into knots of anticipation, but also dread. He knew he could research every theoretical possibility of how humans and turians could be together, but never escape the fear that it wouldn't actually _work_ between this turian and this human. He was willing. Spirits, was he willing. But able?

Academic research wasn't getting him very far. It had explained the mechanics but there was very little about the social protocols. What were you supposed to do and say beforehand? Maybe he needed something with actual context. Joker had mentioned his collection of vids on more than one occasion. Garrus paged through Joker's files. Wow, there were a lot of them. Terabytes and terabytes of vids. What would anyone need with so many? The titles were all confusing, so he picked one at random.

The first scene showed two humans who appeared to be military mechanics or something. They were wearing toolbelts and Systems Alliance uniforms. Except the woman's uniform had no sleeves and very short pant legs. He was pretty sure that wasn't regulation dress for Alliance personnel. They exchanged a few lines of stilted dialogue before the man clumsily poured a dirty liquid on his shirt. He seemed surprised at the mess but it was obviously on purpose. The woman eagerly helped him out of his uniform and suddenly they were.. Garrus switched off the vid hastily, decidedly uncomfortable. There hadn't been much talking in that one, certainly nothing instructive. Garrus tried another one.

In this vid the actors were in a classroom. The man was seated at a desk and was working nervously at a console while the woman stood over him and watched him work. Abruptly the woman put a hand on the man's back and leaned in closer to him. She something about being able to make up his grades with extra credit, whatever that meant, before sliding into the man's lap. Garrus switched off that vid too.

Garrus tried a few more vids but they were all like that. People in clearly contrived circumstances who jumped to having sex with barely any conversation at all. He knew he was ignorant about human courtship rituals. He could never tell when humans were flirting or not, but _they_ all seemed to know. Despite all the regulations against it there had been some fraternizing on the Normandy SR-1. The other crew members always gossiped about how obvious it was that two people were sleeping with each other but he'd never been able to tell.

He leaned back in the chair in frustration. What was he going to _do_? He needed a plan. He could face the grimmest obstacle by mapping out enough strategies to cover every approach. Right now he felt like he was fumbling through the dark.

His worrying was interrupted by a soft sound nearby. He whipped his head around but couldn't pinpoint the source of the noise. The room appeared empty.

EDI's glowing sphere appeared on the panel near the door and it's voice said, "Ms. Goto, I believe it is considered rude to watch people without their knowledge."

There was a shimmer of light near Garrus and he nearly jumped to his feet when it resolved into the black-clad woman, bent at the waist and leaning towards the console Garrus was using. Kasumi straightened and looked over at the spherical display, pouting. "EDI, you're no fun at all."

Garrus felt horror wash over him as he realized she must have been in the room the entire time.

"Kasumi!" he sputtered, "Shepard told you to stop cloaking while on the ship."

"Please, Garrus!" She almost sounded offended. "Asking me to stop sneaking around would be like asking you to stop calibrating the weapons." She dropped to a seat in one of the couches near the window. She was hooded as usual, her eyes invisible except for the slight glow that emanated from her optics, but the huge, wicked smile was all too visible.

Garrus quickly switched off the display and he growled, "I thought you were a thief, now you're spying on people?"

"Not much call for a thief aboard a starship. I have to keep my skills sharp somehow. It's like a game for EDI and me to see how long can I fool her internal sensors." Kasumi leaned forward and tapped the tips of her fingers together. "So. Shep finally made her move, huh? Unless it was you? We wondered which one of you would be first."

"That's none of your.. Wait. We?"

"Kelly and I had a bet. She bet you would tire of mooning around and just say something. That you were a man of action. Turian of action. Whatever."

Garrus groaned.

Kasumi continued, "But I said being a turian, you were way too uptight to hit on a superior officer. Plus," she said, exasperation coloring her voice, "You're kind of oblivious, Garrus. I figured Shep would have to hit you over the head before you noticed she was interested."

Garrus let his head sink into his hands, wishing he were anywhere else. Maybe facing a charging Krogan, that sounded pretty good right about now. "I'm not having this conversation."

"Oh come on, Garrus. Tell me! There's money at stake."

"Is anyone else talking about this?"

"It's a small ship."

The airlock wasn't that far away. He could throw himself out of it and all of this would be over. He heard himself make a sound of despair.

Kasumi chuckled softly and took pity on him. "We're happy for you, Garrus. Really. A lot of people wanted to see you get together."

Garrus cleared his throat uncomfortably. "Look, it's not.. It's just.. before dangerous missions everyone needs to.. relieve stress and.."

"Garrus." The reproach in her voice was unmistakable. "Are you trying to convince me, or yourself? Because I don't think you're convincing anyone."

"It's true! We were talking about how turians have sparring matches to relax.."

"Is that what passes for romance on Palaven?"

"No," he admitted. "Not usually. I'm not that good with turian women either."

Despite himself, he liked Kasumi. She was funny. Had they met when he was still in C-Sec he'd have arrested her on sight, but he was glad he didn't have to now. He even admired her skills. She was maybe even a friend. Garrus let out a huge sigh. "I don't know what I'm doing. You're a human woman, maybe you.."

"Oh no, I'm not touching that one."

Garrus looked at her so pathetically that Kasumi relented. "You have to stop thinking about her as a 'human woman' and start thinking about her as just 'Shepard.' You know Shepard, Garrus. Stop worrying. She's not scary."

Garrus gave her a withering look.

"Well," she amended, "She's not scary when she's not trying to kill you. Which she won't. I don't think."

"You're not in any way a helpful person."

"Wow, you really like her, huh? I can never tell with turians." Kasumi stood up and walked to the door. "I'm not usually in the business of _locking_ doors, but I can hack it to give you some privacy. But Garrus, seriously. She likes _you_. You'll be fine."

The doors hissed closed behind her, leaving Garrus alone to stew in his thoughts. Kasumi hadn't known him very long if she could say he would be fine. He was definitely not fine. He was not anywhere approaching fine.

He was rescued from his bout of self-pity by a ping from the console. He had set up a program to alert him if certain people started an active extranet session. This time it was his sister, Solana. It reminded him that research wasn't the only business he should take care of before they went to the derelict Reaper. He sent her a chat request. As usual she responded with an attempt to start a video chat. He had been avoiding video chats since the rocket injury. This might be the last time he had a chance to see his sister but.. he didn't want the last time she saw him to be with all the cybernetics. He disabled the video and started a text chat instead.

22:08: G: Hey, glad I caught you.

22:10: S: Just about to head to bed. Late my time. Where are you?

22:10: G: Come on, you know I can't tell you that. Not a secure channel.

22:12: S: Oh please, Garrus. You don't have to be all secretive. Illium?

Garrus chuckled at the familiar needling. Solana always tried to guess.

22:12: G: Give it up, Sol.

22:13: S: You're one to talk. Still playing at Spectre, even after all these years.

The barb caused it's usual mix of annoyance and shame. His father had been openly scornful of his decision to quit C-Sec to help Shepard with Saren, but his sister had understood. She had been supportive of his desire for Spectre training, even in the face of their father's censure. Shepard was a controversial figure on Palaven. There were plenty of turians still angry about the Relay 314 Incident, and even more who felt the humans were upstarts who hadn't yet earned their place in the galactic galactic. Giving them the honor of a Spectre had been a hotly contested decision, even if no one disputed that Shepard was an excellent candidate.

Everyone in the family had been relieved when he had gone back to C-Sec after the Battle of the Citadel. Solana had understood him wanting to work with Shepard, but she still thought if he wanted to be a Spectre he should go through proper channels. In that way she and Shepard were a lot alike. Shepard's encouragement had been the only reason he'd gone back at all. So Solana _hadn't_ understood when he left C-Sec again after Shepard's death. He hadn't been able to explain what her death had meant to him, not even to his sister.

He never really told her what he was doing as Archangel. He didn't want to compromise either of their safety by giving away too many personal details. He just told her that he was working freelance. At first, she had kept her disapproval muted. Maybe she had hoped he would come to his senses and give up his vigilante life. When he didn't, the gently pointed remarks had started. As usual, he deflected.

22:16: G: How's Mom?

22:16: S: Last round of treatments didn't go so well.

Garrus felt his heart sink.

22:16: G: Damn it.

22:17: S: We may try an offworld center. Some salarian doctors have something that might work.

22:17: S: It's not covered, though.

22:18: G: Of course not.

22:19: G: I can pay for the treatments.

22:19: S: That's a nice thought. I could really use you here, though.

22:20: G: I can't. How much for the first round?

22:20: S: Forget it.

22:21: G: I can pay.

22:24: S: Sure you can. You lose your C-Sec job, and what about that contract job you were doing up until recently?

Garrus winced and rubbed his jaw and winced.

22:24: G: Yeah, it ended badly.

22:25: S: So don't give me more garbage about how you're going to help.

22:25: S: You obviously can't help or won't bother.

22:25: S: Damn it, you haven't even bothered to sync up for video chat since you lost that damn job.

22:26: S: If you're so ashamed to look me in the eye, then why are we even talking?

22:26: S: Go have your fun doing merc work or screwing around or whatever. Just don't act like you care.

Garrus felt a stab of guilt. She was right to be angry. To her it must look like he cared more about his work than their mother. He knew he should tell her what he was really doing. His sister would understand why stopping the Collectors was so important. But he couldn't. At first it had been because trying to explain why Shepard wasn't dead and they were both working for Cerberus had been too complicated. Once news of Shepard's reappearance had leaked out he could have tried but.. Lying had become a habit.

22:30: G: You're right, Sol. I'm so sorry.

22:32: S: No, I'm sorry. Things are rough with Mom. The salarians are expensive as hell.

22:32: G: I wish I could help.

He paused for a moment, searching for something more he could say. She had enough to worry about. He didn't really want to add worrying about her idiot brother to the list. If he survived, she never had to know and if he didn't.. Well, nothing he said now would make his death any easier for his family. Still, he found he couldn't bear the thought of saying nothing.

22:35: G: I'm going on a trip. Might be away from the relays for a while.

22:35: S: Another pleasure cruise?

22:36: G: You know me.

22:38: S: Send me something nice.

22:38: G: I'll be in touch when I can.

Garrus ended the chat and logged off the extranet entirely. The news from home had put a damper on any enthusiasm he had for amorous activities. He wished like hell his sister had taken his offer of financial help, the only help he could offer from so far away. He couldn't explain about the lavish payment from Cerberus without explaining everything else.

Garrus got to his feet as a thought struck him. His sister thought he was poor and wouldn't take his money, but he had access to resources other than just money. He hurried out of the room and rode the elevator up to the crew deck. As he had hoped, Mordin was in his lab when he got there.

"Hey Mordin, how's it going?" he asked.

The salarian looked up from his work and blinked his large eyes irritably. "Having trouble working between interruptions and EDI's insistence that 'insane' experiments endanger entire crew." Mordin gestured to indicate he was quoting EDI and not describing his own experiments as insane. Then he heaved a sigh and shook his head before saying, "Hard to concentrate. Affecting morale."

"Sorry about that," he replied, "But I need your help with something."

"Actually, wanted to talk with you. Heard about your problem."

Garrus blinked in surprise. "Really? How could you possibly..."

Mordin interrupted him, "Aware that mission is dangerous. Different species react differently to stress. Sexual activity normal stress relief for humans and turians. Still, recommend caution."

"No, Mordin that's not.." Garrus started then stopped. He tried again. "I didn't come to talk to you about.. that."

"Ah, other personal matters. Yes?"

"My mother, she has Corpalis Syndrome."

Mordin nodded in understanding. "Causes neurological degeneration in turians. Ugly disease. Rare."

"Right, well, my sister wants to get her into a study the salarians are doing."

"Ahh, Doctor Kieron. Know him professionally, not personally. Have some interest in his project."

"It's going to be expensive. I offered to pay but.." Garrus shrugged. "I haven't told my sister what we've been doing. She thinks I can't afford it."

Mordin smiled. "Yes, had to lie to family as well. Hmm. So, want to help without her knowing?"

Garrus nodded in agreement, "Right, I was hoping you might have some contacts there."

"Can help in non-monetary ways. Data. Favors. More valuable." Mordin rubbed his chin and paced as he thought aloud. "Kieron has tried to obtain Collector tissue. Finding it difficult."

"How do you know that?"

Mordin smiled enigmatically. "Have friends in STG. Still hear things. As I said, have interest in project. Also have Collector samples. Can spare some."

"Would that be enough?" Garrus asked hopefully.

"Unsure. But, have second plan. Doctor Kieron's work hindered by bureaucracy. Helos Medical Institute private corporation but still subject to government oversight. With upgraded security clearance Helos would become governmental partner. Study could be billed as cooperation with Turian Hierarchy. Get fees waived for all subjects."

"You could do that?"

Mordin nodded briskly and said, "Yes, yes. Have a number of favors owed me. Should call them in now. Might not be able to later."

"Wow. That's.. Thanks, Mordin."

This was a much better result than he'd ever imagined and he was filled with gratitude. He realized he barely knew anything about Mordin's personal life and felt a little bad about that. He'd never even considered that the salarian might be leaving a family behind.

"So.. You said you had to lie to your family too about what we were doing?"

"Got call from nephew. Promising geneticist himself. Just turned 16. Got tenure at university. Following in my footsteps," Mordin rattled off the achievements with unmistakable pride. "Had to lie about what I was doing. Think he was suspicious. Doesn't matter. Still good to hear his voice."

Garrus nodded in understanding. "I wish I could tell my sister what we were doing but.." Garrus shrugged awkwardly. "I'm no good with goodbyes. But I wanted to talk one more time. Check in. I need to know they'll be okay."

"Yes, family connection vital. Hard to imagine galaxy. Too many people. Faceless. Statistics. Easy to depersonalize. Good when doing unpleasant work. For this fight, want personal connection. Can't anthropomorphize galaxy. But can think of favorite nephew. Fighting for him," Mordin said with a bittersweet smile.

Mordin's words made him wonder who he'd be thinking of when the fight came. Turians were raised to believe in the public good, in the nobility of self-sacrifice. For most of the turians he knew, fighting for the idea of Palaven had always been enough. If they succeeded, the importance of what they'd done wouldn't be widely known. Garrus was alright with that, he wasn't in this for the prestige of having his name written into the history books like the Illusive Man spoke about. But if he were honest with himself, he wouldn't be so eager to take on the Collectors if it were someone other than Shepard asking. Which reminded him..

"So about that other.. thing," Garrus asked hesitantly. "You had a recommendation? You know, as a doctor?"

"Yes. Warn of chafing. Can supply oils or ointments to reduce discomfort. Also humans based on levo-amino acids. Turian ingestion of tissue could provoke allergic reactions. Anaphylactic shock possible so don't, ah, ingest." Mordin cleared his throat delicately.

Garrus wondered what the hell Mordin thought he and Shepard were going to be doing together. Maybe he should have watched more of Jokers' vids. Actually, he just didn't want to know.

"Is that it?" he asked, really hoping it was.

"Forwarding advice booklet to your quarters. Valuable diagrams, positions conducive to both species, erogenous zone overviews. Gave EDI electronic relationship aids to use as necessary."

Electronic relationship aids for EDI? He had to be kidding. Please spirits, let him be kidding.

"Okay, now you're just fooling with me, right?"

Mordin drew himself up, looking affronted. "Shocking suggestion! Doctor-patient confidentially a sacred trust. Would _never_ dream of mockery. Shepard asked same question. Don't know why."

Garrus groaned, "You talked to Shepard too?"

Mordin nodded briskly, oblivious to Garrus' embarrassment. "Enjoy yourself while possible, Vakarian. Will be here, studying cell reproduction. Much simpler. Less alcohol and mood music required."

Garrus slunk out of Mordin's lab, his good mood after the resolution of his family's problem shattered by the reminder from Mordin of the basic incompatibilities between turians and humans. He wondered what his sister would think of him getting involved with a human. Most likely she would tease him that he was so bad at wooing turian women that he'd had to settle for a human. She wouldn't be wrong about his awkwardness, but she would be wrong about Shepard. If either of them were settling, Shepard was the one settling for _him_.

That unwelcome thought gnawed at him while he rode the elevator back to the crew deck. There were plenty of other humans on the ship. Not all of them were xenophobic Cerberus hardliners. All of them would have a better idea what to do than he did. And none of them would cause _chafing_. Hell, even some of the other aliens were more human-like than he was. Thane had admitted he was interested in Shepard and he wasn't covered in hard scales that would damage her fragile skin.

The elevator doors opened and his omni-tool pinged softly, alerting him to the arrival of a message. It was Mordin's advice booklet. The message sped his steps as he made the turn around the wall separating the hallway from the mess. He was met with the sight of Shepard's profile behind the glass of the medical bay, as if his distress had summoned her. She stood with her arms folded, one hip cocked slightly to the side, most of her weight resting on that side. Whatever she was talking about with Chakwas, both women were relaxed and smiling. Nervousness and uncertainly churned in his guts at the sight. At that moment the glass between them felt almost poetic. It was one of the many obstacles between them.

Garrus tapped on the glass and Shepard turned her head at the sound. When she saw him her smile widened. The smile did nothing to settle his nerves, it just made him nervous in more pleasant ways. He jerked his thumb over his shoulder towards the main battery and moved away quickly. He fiddled idly with the control panel while he waited to see if she would follow him.

A few minutes later he heard the door hiss open behind him and Shepard's voice said, "Garrus? You need me for something?"

She was leaning against the doorway, looking at him with an unfamiliar expression. He had seen it on her face a few times, once during their conversation in the medbay. It suddenly dawned on him that it was supposed to be flirtatious. Kasumi said the others had noticed. How long had she been flirting with him and he'd simply _missed_ it? He hadn't exactly had enough context before. It was remarkable how much one conversation had changed, well, everything.

"Yeah.. Have you got a minute?" he asked. When she nodded he said, "I've been thinking about what we talked about. Blowing off steam, easing tensions."

He was impressed with how calm he sounded. He certainly didn't feel calm.

"I've never considered cross-species intercourse. And damn, saying it that way doesn't help. Now I feel dirty and clinical. Are we crazy to be even thinking about this? I'm not.." He faltered, not sure how to ask her what he wanted to know. He took a few pacing steps, groping for the words. So much for calm. He just needed to be sure that she was sure.

Sometimes there was no other approach except the frontal assault.

"Look, Shepard, I know you can find something a little closer to home."

Shepard pushed away from the door and moved towards him. "I don't want something closer to home," she said. "I want you."

The heat in her voice warmed him, but he was still uncertain. She must have sensed that because she stroked his arm reassuringly.

"I want someone I can trust."

Garrus nodded slowly. "I can do that."

"You know, Garrus, if you're not comfortable with this, it's okay. I'm not trying to pressure you."

She dropped her hand from her arm and started to move away.

Oh crap. She thought he was having second thoughts. He was, but not for the reasons she thought. He quickly reached out with both hands and pulled her back.

"Shepard, you're about the only friend I've got left in this screwed-up galaxy. You don't ever have to worry about making me uncomfortable. Nervous, yes.. but never uncomfortable." He stroked her arms as she had his and she smiled.

"I'm not going to pretend I've got a fetish for humans," he said. "But this isn't about that. This is about us. I want to try it with you. I want a few moments that are just for us before we throw ourselves into hell for the good of the galaxy."

"That's what I want too, Garrus."

"No matter how much we both want to.. you know.. how do we know it will even work? We're not the same species, there's a lot to consider. Cultural differences, pheromones.. Chafing."

Shepard's mouth twisted into a half-smile. "You've been talking to Mordin."

"Not on purpose, I swear! It just.. came up."

"Then perhaps we should approach this problem as Mordin would."

Garrus frowned. "What do you mean? Salarians don't even have sex. I mean, not for fun anyhow."

"I meant, we should try an experiment."

Shepard reached out and ran gentle hands along his jaw and pulled his face down towards hers. She pressed her mouth to his. It felt strange but it wasn't unpleasant. Her hands and breath were warm against his face. He didn't have the fleshy lips that humans did, but he tried to imitate the way she was moving her mouth. Actually, it was pretty nice. He tried stroking the back of her neck with the palm of his hand. It was a sensitive spot for turians. By the way she made an appreciative noise in response it seemed it was similar in humans.

Shepard pulled back a little and looked at him. Her skin was slightly flushed and her lips looked slightly bruised. He felt a pang of dismay but she was smiling.

"So far, so good?" she asked.

"That was nice," he agreed.

"Hmmm."

Shepard moved her hands from his face twined her arms around his neck, pressing the rest of her body more fully against his. This time, she instead of his mouth, she pressed her lips to the side of his face. He wasn't sure what she was doing and he worried a little about the hard edges of his mandible being uncomfortable. She moved her mouth slowly down to his neck and the sensation that shot through him when she touched the place just under where his mandible ended and his neck was exposed was far more than just nice. Turians weren't _completely_ covered in hardened plates and the feel of her soft lips against the sensitive skin of his neck sent chills through his body as she worked her way from his jaw to where his neck met the rest of his body. The rest his body, which was getting pretty interested in how it felt having hers pressed up against it. A soft, squishy human body wasn't what he was used to holding, but it was _her_ squishy human body. He stroked the back her neck and up into her hair with one hand and with the other he drew her along with him as he stumbled back a few steps until he could lean against the console behind him. She half-fell against him, landing with her legs on either side of his, straddling his thigh. She let out a sound that was half-laugh, half moan and the last of his nervousness was burned away by the heat building inside him.

Shepard chuckled, the sound low and wicked, as she put her hands on his chest and levered her mouth away from his neck. Garrus made a soft sound of protest and tried to draw her back towards him.

"Garrus," she said, slightly breathless. "We're supposed to wait. Disrupt the crew as little as possible and all that."

"Who's idiotic idea was that?" he growled. He knew it had been his, but at this particular moment he couldn't remember why he'd ever thought that was a good idea. His body was very clear on what it wanted and it wanted it _now._ Shepard just smirked and disentangled herself.

"I'll let you get back to work," Shepard said. She folded her hands behind her and backed slowly towards the door, which obligingly opened for her automatically. The smugness on her face was completely galling.

"Right," he said, drawing out the word sarcastically. "Because I'm in a great place to optimize firing algorithms right _now_."

Shepard said nothing, she just kept smiling and finally the door closed between them. Alone again, Garrus let out a long, frustrated breath. Their little experiment should have made him feel better. Despite their differences, something was working between them, his keenly frustrated libido was all the proof he needed that his body could respond to hers. He found instead of being reassuring, it had merely raised the stakes for him. They'd only barely tested the waters, and if they'd failed at this step, they could have stepped back to being friends easily. Now he wanted her more than ever. He _needed_ everything to go right.


	12. On the Day Before

Garrus gripped the back of the seat to steady himself against the sudden jolt as the Normandy hit the edge of the brown dwarf's atmosphere. He was perched sideways on the edge of the navigator's chair up in the cockpit. It was an unspoken rule that none of the Cerberus personnel were allowed to sit there. Any who tried were swiftly chased off by Joker's caustic remarks. The Cerberus crew had come to accept that their ace pilot came with his quirks, one of which was not wanting an audience. Even without that, no one would have stayed to endure his constant bickering with EDI. That he tolerated Garrus was chalked up to their previous history together. Joker and Garrus hadn't been friends during their tour together on the Normandy and their relationship now wasn't exactly warm. But going through that mission together had bonded all of them in a way that transcended the usual grudges or personality conflicts.

Garrus knew Joker's irritability towards the Cerberus crew wasn't as much about not wanting company but with the memory of the seat's previous occupant. Not that Joker had been particularly tolerant of Kaidan Alenko's presence there either. Grousing was practically a second job for Joker. Still, Kaidan's loss had left a shadow over all of them. After his death the Alliance crew had left the seat vacant in his memory. None of the Cerberus crew knew or cared about Alenko, they just thought Joker was being an ass. And he was, but Garrus understood why. He had shared the loss, and honored the man's sacrifice. So Joker tolerated him.

The ship rattled and shook Garrus in his seat as they swung around the brown dwarf and the Reaper came into view. Joker let out a low whistle and Garrus felt a coldness settle into his guts. Even with a huge hole in the side and melted slag around it, the ship was menacing. The memory of Sovereign attacking the Citadel still had the power to fill him with dread. So he was already on edge when he heard Grunt's booming voice behind him.

Grunt lumbered alongside Shepard as she strode into the cockpit, their metal boots clanging against the deck.

"I hate turians," he announced with a disturbing glee in his voice.

Garrus got to his feet tensely. Shepard turned sharply and gave Grunt a hard shove. The krogan's weight was barely shifted by her blow, but it got his attention. She threw her shoulders back and loomed _up_ at him, which would have been comical under other circumstances, given the difference in their sizes. Garrus wasn't in the mood to laugh.

"Don't start anything with Garrus," Shepard said. "I won't have trouble on my ship."

"I don't hate Garrus. I hate _turians_ ," Grunt said, as if her concern was unreasonable. "Garrus is just one turian and he's your clan. No point in ripping his face off."

He paused as he turned his head to look directly at Garrus standing in the cockpit. "Unless he turns on me."

Grunt smiled tauntingly, but without malice. Even so, Garrus felt his fringe lift as his hand drifted unconsciously towards his weapon. Shepard laid her hand on his and shook her head minutely. Grunt looked a little confused and said, "I thought you'd be pleased."

Another hard jolt hit them and forestalled whatever reply Shepard was going to make. Garrus gripped Shepard's elbow as much to steady himself as her. The smile she gave him thawed him a little, but he was still uneasy.

"What's with all the chop, Joker?" Shepard asked.

"Doing my best, the wind's gusting to five hundred kph," Joker complained. He tapped the keys on his control panel and the exterior view of the Reaper switched to the sensor readout of the ship. He pointed to part of the image and said, "There's a second ship alongside the Reaper. It's not transmitting any IFF, but the ladar paints its silhouette as geth."

Shepard frowned and said, "I guess we know why the science team stopped reporting in."

All at once, the shaking stopped. Joker switched the view back to the external camera. Outside the ship they could see chunks of debris caught in the gravity well of the dwarf hurtling by at high speed, but the Normandy was still.

"What just happened?" Shepard asked.

"The Reaper's mass effect fields are still active," Joker said. "We just passed inside their envelope. Eye of the hurricane huh?"

Grunt chortled and moved towards the airlock, apparently eager for whatever action he would find when they got to the Reaper. Shepard started to follow but Garrus tightened his grip on her elbow and she turned back with a questioning look.

"I'm not so sure about him, Shepard," he said quietly. "He's unstable. We don't know what we're going to find over there."

"Yes, and a very large krogan covers a lot of contingencies. He's been better since Wrex made him part of clan Urdnot." Shepard touched his chin, "If he tries anything, I'll save you."

Out of the corner of his eye, Garrus thought he saw Joker staring at them, but when he turned Joker was staring at his control screen. Garrus ducked his head a little self-consciously, but he let his hands drift to her waist. In her armor it was almost like holding a turian.

"I guess I can live with the risk then," Garrus chuckled softly and said, "You know, Wrex used to ask everyone who they thought would win in a fight, you or them."

Shepard smiled. "I remember," she said.

"He always bet on you. I'll trust his judgment. I can't believe it, but I actually sort of miss him."

"Me too."

Joker flew the Normandy alongside the Reaper, following the signal of the docking buoy until he found the exterior airlock. The ship shuddered gently when the docking clamps engaged and brought them to a halt. Garrus waited tensely in the airlock while the docking procedure finished. The Normandy's airlock had not been built to accommodate Grunt's hulking stature. Garrus made sure to keep Shepard between him and the krogan. Some might call it cowardly, but it seemed pretty smart to him just then. After an interminable amount of time had passed the door seals hissed slightly and the sensor readout indicated the atmosphere on the other side was safe to breath without an environmental suit.

The airlock door opened onto a corridor that was almost indistinguishable from the one they had just left on the Normandy. It was made of the same metal plating, had the same level and color of ambient light. Cerberus must have a factory somewhere, churning out identical parts used to fabricate whatever they needed.

The biggest difference between the corridor they'd just left and this one was the corpse on the ground. It had been burned beyond recognition, but the shape was still recognizably human. The ash smeared on the wall behind it was a gruesome indication that the burning had been pre-mortem. Grunt sniffed the air as he stepped from the Normandy into the Cerberus facility.

"Smells bad," he said. "There's blood, but there's something wrong with it."

Garrus couldn't smell what Grunt did, but the condition of the corpse made him uneasy as well. He followed Shepard down the short flight of stairs from the airlock and into a lab area. There weren't any other signs of a struggle except for the body. There were no bullet holes or the telltale signs of incendiary devices. All the scientific equipment in the room was arranged neatly and was still operational. There should have been something to indicate how the person had died.

Shepard accessed the data on one machine and called up the most recent file. The image of a dark-skinned man appeared on the screen, the file's meta-data identified him as Doctor Chandana, the lead scientist. It was a personal log, the file started and the man spoke directly to the camera.

"The airlock has been installed at the far end of the holed section. We have begun pressurization for shirtsleeves work. The crew is.. edgy. I reassure them that it is merely nerves. A superstitious reaction to what this hulk represents — the corpse of a vast, ancient life form. Privately, I can't deny the atmosphere. The angles of the walls seem to press down on you. I find myself clenching my teeth."

Garrus looked out the glass window of the lab as the log played and out onto the interior of the Reaper. He wasn't sure exactly what he was looking at. It was a view of metal parts, clearly mechanical, like he was staring into the guts of a machine. Maybe he was. They had built the science lab _into_ the Reaper, and not just onto the surface. The thought of crawling around inside a Reaper made his scales itch.

Shepard looked through a few more files, then shook her head. "Nothing on here about what happened to the science team or if they found the IFF device. Nothing's ever easy, is it?"

They searched the rest of the lab but found nothing that looked as if it had been manufactured by any hands other than human ones. The passage ended in a small alcove adjacent to a huge door. Garrus could hear the gentle hiss of an atmospheric control unit. An airlock, probably the same one Chandana had mentioned in his log. The alcove had been set up as a first aide station, there were medi-gel dispensers and other emergency medical equipment. Shepard found a portable data recorder and checked its contents.

"We finished cataloging specimens A203 to B016," a human voice said from the data recorder. "No evidence of active nanotechnology noted. Dr. Chandana believes they would have decayed over the last thirty-seven million years. There's not enough data to support his claim. He asserts that the truth is 'patently obvious.' I am.. Concerned. Chandana has been staring at the samples for hours. He says he's listening to them."

The log cut off as the entire structure shook violently for a few seconds, then fell still again. Garrus glanced at Shepard in alarm but was interrupted by Joker's urgent voice over their comms.

"Normandy to shore party!"

"What just happened?" Shepard asked.

"The Reaper just put up kinetic barriers. I don't think we can get through from our side."

"So we're trapped," Garrus said. "Wonderful."

"We'll just have to take down the barrier generators from in here," Shepard told them briskly. "Any idea where they are?" This question was directed to EDI over the comms.

"At the moment of activation, I detected a heat spike in what is likely the wreck's mass effect core," EDI replied. "Sending the coordinates now. Be advised: This core is also maintaining the Reaper's altitude."

"So when we take the barriers down to escape, the wreck falls into the planet core," Shepard said.

"And that means everyone dies," Joker said caustically. "Yeah, I got it."

"If any helmsman can pull us off this thing before it reaches crush depth, it's you," Shepard said encouragingly. "We'll make a sweep for survivors and recover what data we can. Stand by."

"Aye, aye," Joker said, sounding mollified. "Good hunting."

"So, the only way out is through the Reaper," Garrus grumbled.

Shepard opened the airlock and waved them in ahead of her. The door clanged shut behind them and they waited inside the inner chamber for the cycle to complete. A white vapor poured down the sides of the chamber from the ceiling, probably some sort of decontaminant. The other door finally opened into the vast interior of the Reaper. The lighting was extremely poor, it was confined to the deck that must have been added by the Cerberus science team. It didn't look like an original part, it was too new and made of a different material than the rest of the Reaper. Whatever this space was, it hadn't been designed for habitation by other lifeforms. Garrus suddenly wondered how Saren had traveled with Sovereign two years ago. Were there parts of every Reaper that were outfitted for smaller species or had Saren and the geth added their own structures like Cerberus had? His ruminations were cut short when they stumbled over more charred bodies on the deck.

"What a mess. Anyone else hungry?" Grunt asked them.

Garrus saw Shepard grimace at the ghoulish joke. Krogan had the worst senses of humor. At least, Garrus chose to believe it was a joke. The alternative was too disturbing to consider. The bodies were on the floor next to another a portable computer console. Garrus checked through the data logs, they appeared to be security footage. He played the most recent video log, hoping to see what had happened to the science team.

The screen blinked to life and he saw two Cerberus personnel talking to each other.

"You're married?" one man said. "You never told me that."

The second man replied, "Katy had anger management issues." He chuckled a little and said, "When my brother got married, the best man tried to hit on her. She kicked him down the church steps."

"What?" the first man said, sounding confused. "Katy is _my_ wife. I must have told you that story."

"No, I know my own wife." The second man sounded offended. "I remember—that day was the only time I saw her wear stockings."

"Yeah, the kind with the seams up the back," the first man said in a hushed tone. "That was what I remembered too."

"What the hell is this?" The second man's voice was shaking. "How can we remember the same thing?"

Garrus glanced down at the bodies next to the console and wondered if these were the same men. It sent a shiver down his spine.

"It sounds like the Reaper was affecting their minds," he said.

Shepard nodded, her face troubled. This Reaper was supposed to have been dead for over fifty thousand years and it still had the power to affect the minds of the scientists? Garrus remembered what Liara's mother said right before she died. She'd spent time on Sovereign with Saren before the attack on Eden Prime in the hopes of dissuading him from his plan. In her last moments of lucidity, she'd described slowly losing control of her own mind to the Reaper.

 _"It is a terror to be trapped in your mind, beating on the glass as your hands torture and murder."_

Garrus wanted to get the IFF and get the hell off this thing as soon as possible. He turned and strode down the walkway at a fast clip. Up ahead there was a larger platform that looked like it was piled with storage crates and equipment. Garrus saw a flicker of movement in the dim light, heard a faint scrabbling sound. He tensed and stared into the darkness until a hand reached up from below the level of the deck. The hand was followed by the rest of the corpse-like body of a husk. He quickly drew his rifle and put a bullet between it's eyes, but by then half a dozen more had finished clambering up the struts and heaved themselves onto the deck.

From behind him he heard Grunt laugh and bellow, "I know tanks, Shepard. Hit those, they blow up nice."

Garrus scanned the platform to see what Grunt meant. Scattered among the crates were cylindrical tanks. He took a closer look at the lettering on them and saw they contained pressurized fuel. Three of the husks were shambling obligingly towards one. He shifted his crosshairs from the husks to the fuel tank and fired. The pressurized fuel escaped violently from the hole his bullet made and ignited, setting the husks on fire. They moaned horribly and fell to the deck. More husks came, heedlessly trampling the still-smoking corpses as they ran. Grunt mowed the new husks down with a spray of bullets from his assault rifle.

Shepard turned sharply at a sound to her left. More husks were climbing over the edge of the deck right beside them. She loosed a shockwave and the force shook them off, throwing them back into the dark depths below. Still more came up from the depths.

They needed to move. The attack had come while they were in the middle of the walkway and if the husks were climbing up the struts from somewhere below that meant they were open to to attack from all sides. They needed to get somewhere they could put at least one wall at their backs.

Grunt drove the husks before them with Garrus and Shepard crowded together at his back. He picked off any husks fortunate enough to miss being caught by her waves of biotics. Grunt picked up and hurled any husk stupid enough to get near him back into the pit one-handed. Garrus was starting to appreciate the wisdom of Shepard's decision to bring the krogan along.

They fought their way through the throng until at last they reached a platform that had been bolted so that it was flush with the wall of the Reaper. Now the walkway worked for them instead of against them, funneling the husks into clumps. Grunt fired a concussive round into one clump, setting the last the husks ablaze.

"More!" Grunt roared happily.

"There can't be that many more," Garris said. "There were only so many scientists on this wreck."

Shepard shook her head sadly, "What a waste."

"Boo hoo," Grunt said, "I'm not going to cry over some dead humans."

Shepard shot him a look of distaste and started to walk away. Grunt shrugged, but followed her dutifully. Grunt seemed to hold Shepard in high enough esteem, but his feelings obviously didn't extend to the rest of humanity.

At the other end of the platform was a ramp leading upwards. Just as Shepard reached the top, a black hand snatched her foot and she staggered. Garrus saw the head of the husk peek over the edge of the walkway but before he could react he heard the crack of a gun and the head of the husk exploded.

"Sniper!" he shouted while scanning the area, trying to locate the shooter. The black blood splattered on the wall _behind_ them, meaning the shot had come from somewhere ahead. Two more shots rang out, shooting two more husks climbing up from below. This time Garrus caught the faint muzzle flash from where the walkway turned to the left and went behind a wall. Shepard stomped the arm of the hand that still grasped her foot and then kicked the body of the dead husk away. Garrus jogged up next to her, his eyes still scanning the room.

"I didn't see the shooter," he said. He looked at her questioningly and she shook her head. "A survivor from the science team?"

"One way to find out," she said and headed towards the direction the shots had come from. The walkway took them onto another wide platform that was stacked with crates of cargo and housed a few computer terminals. One wall held a locked door. No sign of the sniper, unless they were the one who'd locked the door? Garrus prowled through the crates, searching for more husks. Instead, his eyes were drawn across the room towards the end of the platform. Even from this distance, the silvery spikes jutting up from the chasm below were visible. He realized he'd come to a standstill. He pulled his gaze away, the spikes were in the most well-lit area of the platform. Any enemies coming from that direction would be easy to spot. He went back to looking in the darkened spaces between the crates. Shepard had gone straight for the computers to peruse their contents.

Garrus heard a tinny voice complain, "Third day with this headache. You'd think Chandana would let me have a few hours off."

He glanced at the screen long enough to see it was security footage of two Cerberus researchers working in the same room they were in now. The researcher who'd spoken went from calm to suddenly agitated.

"Goddamn!" he yelled and startled visibly.

The other scientist looked up from his work to ask, "What is it?"

"That thing that just.. Gray thing! It disappeared when I looked straight at it," the researcher said, then pointed to a spot off screen. "Came out of the damn wall. Where we took off the panel."

"I didn't see anything. You should lie down."

"I'm telling you, this ship isn't dead. It knows we're inside it."

"Calm down," his colleague said, annoyed. "Now _I'm_ getting a headache."

Between the bad lighting and the completely creepy surroundings, Garrus wasn't surprised the staff had gotten stressed enough to start seeing things. But was that all it was, or was it something else? Would a Reaper dead so long be able to still affect their minds?

What was up there on those spikes? Were those bodies? Garrus blinked. He was staring again. He had drifted closer to the spikes, even though his search pattern shouldn't have taken him that way. The sight was compelling in a way he found unnerving. There were definitely bodies impaled on the spikes.

"Chandana said the ship was dead."

Garrus nearly jumped at the sound. Shepard had come up beside him and accessed another of the computer terminals. More video logs. Garrus wondered if they'd recorded so much security footage to document their experiences with the dead Reaper, or if Cerberus was just in the habit of spying on their employees. He'd found and disabled more than one camera in the forward battery before bunking down there.

There was a man on the screen speaking directly to the camera. His eyes shone with a manic light. "We trusted him. He was right. But even a dead god can dream," he said in a strange voice, hushed and reverent. "A god — a real god — is a verb. Not some old man with magic powers. It's a force. It warps reality just by being there. It doesn't have to want to. It doesn't have to think about it. It just does. That's what Chandana didn't get. Not until it was too late. The god's mind is gone, but it still dreams. He knows now. He's tuned in on our dream. If I close my eyes, I can feel him. I can feel every one of us."

Garrus felt his stomach twist into a knot. The scientists had gone crazy just by being on the dead Reaper. At that moment he felt sorry for Saren. He'd wondered if Saren had just been too weak or corrupt to resist Soveriegn's influnce. But if a _dead_ Reaper could still be so powerful.. No wonder they called it a god. Spirits, a Reaper god was an appalling thought. Then thinking of Saren and his geth allies, the pieces clicked into place and he knew why the spikes seemed familiar.

"We've seen these before, Shepard," he said. The sound of his own voice in that room robbed it of a little of it's strangeness. "Dragon's teeth, your people call them. The geth used them on Eden Prime."

Shepard nodded, but she wasn't really looking at them. She was studying the rest of the platform. "See how the room's arranged?" she asked. "They treated this thing like some kind of altar."

Garrus looked more closely and saw what she meant. All the objects in the room were carefully oriented around the spikes, making them the focal point of the room.

"It does look like that," he agreed. "Maybe without Sovereign the geth are looking for a new god?"

Shepard hummed skeptically. "I haven't seen any other geth bodies. No signs of battle. I don't think Cerberus' people would've gone down without a fight. There should've been some signs."

"There was the burned body in the airlock," he pointed out.

"Smelled wrong, not like regular burned human," Grunt said. "More like those husks."

"And it takes time to turn bodies into husks. I don't think that geth ship has been here that long," Shepard said.

"Then who.." he started to ask, but . The bodies had to have been mounted by their fellow scientists. And without any signs of a struggle.. he realized they had _allowed_ themselves to be taken.

"Why would they _want_ this to happen?" he asked.

"You heard the logs. They were seeing things. Hearing things. They were being indoctrinated."

Shepard's face was impassive as she spoke, but he saw a muscle twitch in her cheek and knew she was clenching her teeth. Why, he couldn't say. Was she reacting to the fate of the science team or was the Reaper beginning to affect her too? Chandana had mentioned clenching his teeth. Garrus felt a cold dread settle into him. How long had it taken for the effects to start? How would he even be able to tell if it already had?

"We can't help these people now," Shepard said. "But we won't let the machines use their corpses like this."

Grunt growled deeply in his throat. "Burn the whole place down."

Shepard gestured as if to say, "Feel free," but she headed for the locked door and pulled up her omni-tool to bypass the lock. Garrus turned away from the spikes to follow her, but his shoulders itched and he could feel the presence of the spikes behind him. The itching in his back only receded once they'd progressed into the corridor beyond the door and the door had shut behind them. The corridor was short, ending in another sealed door. Shepard jammed the button on that door impatiently.

"Please standby," a computerized voice chimed. "Equalizing pressure with exterior conditions. Remember, safety is everyone's concern. We have gone five days without a workplace death."

The pressure lock's door opened and Shepard lead the way out onto another platform. These platforms extended outside of the Reaper's guts and had an energy barrier that protected the platform from space. No walls here, the flashes of purple plasma from the corona of the brown dwarf made him feel as if he were stepping out into a lightning storm. Having no visible shield between him and the brown dwarf was distinctly unnerving.

Shepard hand-signaled for him and Grunt to fan out and sweep for enemies. His gun at the ready, Garrus crept towards the ramp ahead of him, his eyes scanning the spaces between the large tanks bolted to the platform and darting to the dark spaces beneath the metal scaffolding. Husks could crawl out of any crevice.

The crack of a high-powered rifle sounded, large caliber bullet. He spun and saw Shepard turning towards a husk that was an arm's length behind her as it fell to the ground, nothing left of it's head. Two more scurried out of a hiding place and another shot sounded and it fell. Shepard turned her gun on the last. Garrus tracked his head towards where the sound of the shot had come from. The sniper again? On a walkway high above them something grey and metallic moved, he saw a light on its head flash. Garrus trained his rifle on it and looked through the scope and saw the familiar shape of a geth. Garrus poised his finger on the trigger to shoot but the geth clicked and a metallic voice emerged.

"Shepard-Commander."

Shepard put her hand on his arm and slightly lowered his gun. He itched to fire but he did has she asked and brought the rifle down. The geth stared at them, the metal bits around its headlight opening and closing in an unreadable gesture. Then it turned and walked on, deeper into the station. As it did, Garrus could see that one shoulder had a different piece welded to it than the other, one with a red stripe on it.

"Geth talk?" Grunt asked. "Since it knows you, tell it I don't need its help."

"Since when do geth operate alone?" Garrus wanted to know. "They get smarter the more of them there are."

The moaning wheeze of husks interrupted them. More crawled up out from beneath the platforms and rushed towards them. Garrus turned his thoughts from the geth to the more immediate threat. They seemed to come from everywhere. Shepard pushed them away with a blast of biotic power. Some skittered back over the edge of the platform but he could hear the clatter and groan of bodies climbing metal struts and knew they weren't dead. Shepard glanced around and started backing into the space between two rows of tanks to limit their egress. He followed, trusting her to handle the husks at his back, and made sure she wasn't backing them into more danger. Grunt brought his weapon to bear, sending a sweep of bullets into the space behind him. Garrus heard the sounds of the bullets ripping through the fleshy steel of the husks and their awful shrieks.

Shepard lead them up a series of ramps, throwing the husks when they swarmed her, picking off the ones she could with her pistol between sorties. The mass of bodies began to thin, but as they parted, Garrus saw a clump of husks that seemed different. They moved slowly and jerkily and he realized it was because they were melded together, with misshapen, uncoordinated limbs. Garrus only had a moment to wonder about the utility of such creatures before it screamed and raised one arm and sent out a shockwave of biotic force that rattled the platform beneath them and threw them off balance.

Grunt laughed and turned his gun on this new foe. The bullets thudded into it's body but it didn't halt it's jerky progress towards them. He growled and released a fiery blast towards the hulking creature. It hit with a force they could feel even this far away but the husk barely seemed to notice. Grunt's growl of irritation became a yell of rage as he rushed towards it full tilt.

"I am krogan!"

Grunt slammed into it with all of his weight and grappled it. They lurched around the platform, the big husk was ungainly but too bulky to be shifted easily. The smaller, more nimble husks rushed towards Grunt. He managed to shake them off of him while he continued to grapple the larger foe. Shepard cursed and biotically charged into the mass of bodies. She sent out a blast all around her that knocked the smaller husks to the ground. It rattled the big husk and Grunt too but he was too far into his battle fever to care. He shoved the large husk up against a wall while wrestling it's arm and directing the shockwaves it continued to shoot from it towards the other husks. Shepard focused on the rest, keeping them away from Grunt. The big husk finally started to show signs of damage under the onslaught of Grunt's attacks. Cracks appeared in it's thick skin and the blue electrical cables underneath became visible, sparking dangerously.

Garrus chambered an incendiary round and shouted, "Clear out, Shepard!"

Shepard saw him taking aim at the big creature and called an order to Grunt, but he didn't seem to hear her at all. Her biotic power flared around her and she charged, knocking him free of the grip of his opponent and pushing them across the room. Garrus knew that was his cue. He fired his incendiary round and the big husk was engulfed in flames. It shrieked hideously and swung it's misshapen limbs around but soon slumped to the ground in a smoldering heap.

"Hey, that was mine!" Grunt roared as he shook Shepard off.

Shepard gave him a little shove. "Next time I say move, you _move_."

Grunt grumbled, "Yes, battlemaster."

"Better," Shepard said. She examined the remains, using her foot to turn it over. "That's a new one. Nasty piece of work."

"Maybe there will be more," Grunt said, sounding brighter. "It was fun."

Shepard just shook her head. "I don't need any more surprises. Let's find what we came for and get the hell out of here."

They found another airlock door that looked to lead back into the dead Reaper. Just inside the door was a computer console with something definitely not man-made attached to it. Something that had been cut out of the Reaper.

Shepard picked it up and scanned it with her omni tool which pinged cheerfully.

"That it?" Grunt asked.

Shepard nodded. "Time to take care of the kinetic barrier."

"Okay," Grunt said. "Point me at the core and I'll tear it up."

"Then we get off the ship, fast," Garrus agreed. So the Cerberus team had recovered the IFF. And been turned into husks while they did it. They'd had to kill so many.. How many people had Cerberus thrown away in pursuit of the Illusive Man's goals? Garrus shook his head sadly. Cerberus should have taken more precautions.

 _What precautions could you take against a god?_

Garrus shook the thought away forcefully. He refused to think of the Reaper as a god. He refused.

Shepard headed to the door on the far side of the airlock and made short work of bypassing the lock. The door opened onto a white energy barrier between them and the huge room beyond it. They could see there was a massive glowing sphere with huge metal conduits running from it in all directions on the far wall. The sphere roiled with glowing grey waves of energy and shone with a sheer white field encasing it. At least finding the core had been easy, because getting to it wouldn't be. On the other side of the energy barrier, Garrus could see a mass of husks. They weren't paying any attention to their arrival though. They were rushing towards the geth that was doing something to a terminal near the glowing core.

Just as the husks reached it, the geth turned and fired, killing the two in the front of the pack, then quickly turned back to the console. Garrus saw its hands move over the terminal. The energy barrier between them faded just as the rest of the pack of husks swarmed it. It fell under a mass of squirming black and blue bodies.

"Grunt, get those.." Shepard didn't even get to finish her sentence before Grunt was charging towards the pile of husks swarming the geth.

"What about the core?" Garrus asked Shepard.

"That's why we have guns."

"Sure there's not a better.."

Shepard emptied the clip of her pistol into the glowing core. She grinned as the core flared up and sparked. Then two semi-circular doors snapped shut over the core.

"..way." He finished.

"Damn," Shepard said. "Usually the guns work."

"Your luck had to run out sometime."

"Y'know, gloating could be considered insubordination."

A moan came from the depths of the darkness below their feet. More husks, some bearing the incendiary red circuits they'd seen on the Collector ship climbed to the deck.

"How about you use your guns on them?" he suggested.

"Fine, you can figure out the better way."

Shepard darted off, alternating between using her gun and her biotics on the new swarm of husks. Grunt roared his approval at the new enemies to play with. Garrus ran over to the computer console and the geth's prone body. He stopped as he reached it and nudged it with the end of his rifle. The geth remained still. It looked damaged but it was hard to say which damage was new and which was old. This close he could see its arm better, the one with the red stripe. It was clearly a patch job, a piece of different armor welded to the geth's body. A piece of human armor, that was the N7 stripe. A little chill ran down his spine when he thought of it saying Shepard's name. What the hell was this thing?

He didn't really have time to think about it now. He had to straddle it's body, one leg on one side, oneon the other, to reach the console it had been accessing. There was some kind of machine code scrolling by rapidly on the screen. Whatever the geth had been doing, it had been working in a way a non-machine couldn't.

Garrus scanned the console with his omni-tool and it started scrolling with the same machine code. Crap. Had it infected the console with a virus or something? He looked down at the geth's inert body and frowned. Maybe another AI could do the same trick. He used his omni tool to patch the console into the Normandy's systems.

"EDI?" he asked.

"Yes, Mister Vakarian?"

Garrus swallowed his trepidation. She'd been useful on the Collector ship, he reminded himself. But he still didn't like her.

"We found the core. Can you shut it down now?"

"Negative," she replied. "I cannot penetrate the Reaper's system to deactivate the core." There was a slight pause. "I attempted to do so when the barrier first went up."

"I've patched into a console in here," Garrus said. "There was a geth here doing the same, it was able to control one of the security fields. If it could do it.."

"Processing."

Garrus watched the machine code on the console slow, then resume it's scrolling as EDI worked.

"The geth was attempting to access the core but was similarly unsuccessful."

Garrus cursed but EDI hadn't finished talking.

"I cannot access the core, however I can control the shielding door limiting your physical access to the core."

The metal doors slid open again with a snap.

"Now what?" Garrus said.

"That's why you have guns," EDI replied.

"You've been spending too much time with Shepard."

Garrus took a few steps back and loaded a high-impact round into his gun and fired it towards the glowing core. The metal doors snapped shut again but not before he saw a small crack in the casing. The doors cracked open and slid shut again, EDI's control slipping. But she got the doors open one more time.

Shepard blasted one of the abominations with her biotics into a clump of it's fellows, then gestured for Grunt to apply one of his incendiary rounds. The abomination exploded into a fiery wreck that took the rest of the hulks with it.

"I thought we weren't shooting the core?" she shouted at him.

"Turns out there isn't a better way," he shouted back. "All together this time."

Shepard and Grunt aimed their weapons at the core and when Shepard counted down they all unloaded into it. The small cracks deepened and spread across the surface under the onslaught. The core exploded outward and shot out a few arcs of plasma as it sputtered and died.

Grunt came over to where Garrus was standing over the geth and examined it.

"Shepard," Grunt said "That geth's still alive. Want it for target practice?"

"Leave it," Garrus said. "We have enough trouble."

"Tali said no one's ever captured a geth intact," she mused.

Of all the stupid ideas.. Shepard sounded like she was really considering it. He opened his mouth to argue when he saw a black and blue hand grab the railing behind Shepard. More husks started leveraging themselves up over the railing towards them.

"You know the risks," Garrus said shortly. "That's all I'm going to say."

"There's no time for debate. Move out!"

Shepard gestured for Grunt to carry the geth out. He picked up the geth under one arm and Shepard supported it under the other. Shepard was lucky Grunt was there because Garrus wouldn't have touched the thing, insubordination or no. They turned and went back the way they'd come through the airlock. Shepard shut and locked the door behind them but there was a grind of metal from somewhere else and the room shuddered. The panel on the other airlock door indicated there was no longer any atmosphere on the other side. When the door opened Garrus felt his steps become oddly light and disconnected from the ground. He saw the shimmering kinetic field that had separated them from space was gone. Debris on the deck had begun to float slightly above the surface of the deck as they drifted away from each other. The mass effect field providing gravity was dying along with the core. Garrus activated his mag boots and heard Grunt and Shepard do the same. Shepard ran toward the edge of the open deck, her boots clunking loudly as the magnets engaged and disengaged with each step. Garrus could just see the outline of the Normandy in the mass of gases that surrounded the star.

"Hang on, folks," Joker said over the comms.

"Open the portside airlock," Shepard responded.

"Aye, aye," Joker acknowledged.

Husks followed them, hindered by the dwindling gravity but still quick enough. Garrus held them off while Grunt and Shepard headed towards the Normandy. It came to a stop with at least a 50 meter gap between it and where the deck ended. Shepard didn't alter her path, but clunked up to the edge. Grunt pushed off strongly and threw himself into the gap, sailing through space to crash into the Normandy. He grabbed a handhold inside the airlock door and steadied himself. Shepard tossed the geth after him and waited until Grunt had caught the machine before throwing herself off the edge. Garrus killed a few more husks to give them some breathing room and launched himself towards the ship. Shepard caught him and guided him to a handhold. He grabbed the Normandy with one hand but kept a hand on her.

"We're clear," Shepard called. "Go!"

The door between them and the Reaper shut and the inner door opened. They all fell inside to the deck, the mass effect field of the Normandy re-establishing gravity abruptly. Garrus looked up to see the Cerberus bridge crew staring at them laying on the ground. He levered himself to his feet as Shepard and Grunt did the same. Joker craned his head around the back of his seat to look at them.

"Welcome back, Comman.. Woah, is that a geth?"

"It is indeed, lieutenant."

"Um, nice of you to bring me a souvenir, Commander, but maybe you should take it back."

Miranda looked at the geth with a certain gleam of interest.

"Is it intact? An intact geth would be invaluable to Cerberus' cyberweapons division. We need better equipment to fight the Reapers," she said.

"We'll have to disagree on that, ma'am," Jacob said coolly. "I saw enough of these things on Eden Prime. Space it."

"For once Jacob and I agree," Garrus murmured to Shepard but Miranda wasn't done arguing.

"Cerberus has a long-standing cash bounty for an intact geth, I assure you, the reward is significant."

"I could care less about a bounty," Shepard cut in. "I want to know why it has a piece of N7 armor strapped to its chest."

"Battle trophy maybe?" Jacob suggested. "Would a machine care about that?"

"No," Miranda answered. "Trophies imply emotions that AIs don't have. I doubt it's more than a convenient field repair."

"This one tried to communicate with us," Shepard said. "Hell, it probably saved our lives. I want to know why. I've killed hundreds of these things but I've never had the chance to talk to one."

"Talk to one?" Garrus asked.

"I want to start it up," she said. "Interrogate it."

There was immediate dissent from all quarters.

"Reactivating the geth is a risk," Miranda warned. "If you do so, it should be for humanity's best interests and not your curiosity."

"I still think our best interests involve an airlock," Jacob said.

"There's no guarantee we can _de_ activate it again," Miranda said.

"Bullets can," Garrus pointed out.

Jacob gave him a grudging look of respect that Garrus returned.

"I've got bullets, Shepard," Grunt said helpfully.

"That's not what I meant," Miranda said.

"Thank you — all of you — for your recommendations," Shepard said. "I've made my decision."

"Tali is going to freak when she hears about this," Joker remarked.

"For now, we should store it in EDI's AI core." Miranda glanced up at the crewmen openly gawking at the sight of the superior officers arguing. "You two," she said, pointing to the two nearest people, "Take it."

The two humans glanced at each other, as if wondering how they'd gotten demoted to being porters. Miranda noted their hesitation and narrowed her eyes. That was all it took to get them moving. Garrus almost felt sorry for them, but at the moment sympathy was squeeze out by foreboding. A geth on the Normandy. Now there were two AI's on the ship. What if something happened to EDI? He didn't think she would go down without without a fight, but he didn't think it was worth finding out.

Shepard followed the two crewmen carrying the geth towards the elevator and Garrus hurried after her.

"EDI," she was saying, "Please have Tali meet me in the AI core."

"You're not going to reactivate that thing now, are you?" Garrus asked.

"No time like the present."

"Shouldn't we study it or something first? Make sure it won't, you know, kill us all?"

"Why do you think I want Tali there?"

"What about the Reaper IFF?" he asked. "We should focus on the mission first."

"I have determined how to integrate it with our systems," EDI's voice broke in helpfully. "However, the device is Reaper technology. Linking it with the Normandy's systems pose certain risks."

"I trust you, EDI," Shepard said. "I know you won't let anything happen to the ship."

"Understood, Shepard. It may take several hours before the IFF is ready for shakedown. I will alert you as soon as it is ready."

"See?" Shepard said to Garrus. "So we have some time to kill interrogating the geth."

The elevator arrived at the crew deck and they all stepped out of the elevator. Shepard followed the crew members carrying the geth through the Med Bay to EDI's AI core. It was a large closet-sized room that housed the main access to the ship's AI.

"There is a security field around the core I can use to contain the geth," EDI said. "Place it inside before reactivating it."

"Should we really be locking the rogue AI in with the AI running our ship?" Garrus asked.

"The AI core is designed for human access," EDI chimed in pleasantly. "The geth has sophisticated methods for accessing computers. It could access most of my functions from anywhere on the ship."

"Well that's terrifying," Garrus said mildly.

The crew placed the inert geth on a raised portion of the AI core and stepped back. A security shield sprung up around the core and enclosed the space containing the geth. The door behind him opened and Tali came in, tension in every line of her body.

"Shepard, what are you _doing_?" Tali asked. "How could you bring a geth onboard?"

"I know it's a risk, Tali," Shepard said, then eyed the Cerberus crew members still standing there. "You two are dismissed."

After the others had left, Shepard turned back to Tali.

"I know it's a risk, but the opportunity seemed hard to pass up."

"After what happened on the Alarei?" Tali demanded. "My father thought rebuilding geth to test weapons on them was a good opportunity too. And those were all made from different pieces. This one's intact. Who knows what programs are in it.."

"That's precisely _why_ I think this one is worth reactivating. This one didn't try to attack us. Hell, it _saved_ us."

"So it's just one of the friendly geth who drove my people from my homeworld?"

"Don't you want to know why?"

Tali's shoulders curled inward and she crossed and uncrossed her arms. "Of course I want to know why, but it isn't _worth_ it."

"What if it is?"

"Why is this so important to you?"

Shepard looked away and chewed on the inside of her lip, then she looked back at Tali.

"It patched itself with a piece of N7 armor," she said.

"They have self-repair routines," Tali said with an angry shrug. "That's how the geth on the Alarei made more of themselves and overwhelmed the crew."

"N7 armor," Shepard insisted. "That's not exactly a common thing to come across in space. I think.. I think it's mine. From before."

She stumbled a bit over the word before. Tali's angry posture softened and she put a hand on Shepard's shoulder.

Garrus let out a breath. "That's a stretch, Shepard."

"It knew my name _."_

"So you're famous even among the geth. You've killed a lot of them."

Shepard gave him a thin smile. "Maybe it doesn't mean anything, but I need to know. I have a strange feeling about it."

Garrus put his hand on her other shoulder and squeezed.

"Alright," Tali sighed. "But we have to be extremely careful."

"I have isolated our systems and erected additional firewalls," EDI said. "I am prepared to resist any hacking attempt."

Garrus could see the faint shape of Tali's eyes narrowing at the voice of the ship's AI through her faceplate.

"That's very reassuring, EDI," Tali said sarcastically.

Shepard patted each of their hands and they let her go.

"I'm turning this thing back on. Be ready," she said and indicated Garrus' gun.

Garrus unholstered his pistol and trained it on the geth. The geth already had a big hole in it, he was pretty sure a pistol could finish the job.

Shepard took a breath and let it out, squaring her shoulders, then tapped a few commands on her omni tool. The geth's fingers twitched, but it remained still. Shepard tried again and this time the headlamp flared to life. There was a series of clicks and whirring servos as the geth sat itself up. It lurched to its feet and towards Shepard so quickly that she and Tali both flinched back involuntarily even though there was a forcefield between them. Shepard eyed the geth warily for a moment, then stepped forward again, her hands folded behind her back in a military posture.

"Can you understand me?" she asked in a cold, professional tone.

"Yes," it said. Its voice was mechanical and uninflected.

"Are you going to attack me?" Shepard asked.

"No," it said.

Well, that was something. It had stopped moving as soon as it reached the security field and gone stock still. It didn't shift its weight on its feet or do any of the other idle movements an organic species would have done in the same conditions. The stillness, the mechanical voice, it all made the geth was unnerving.

"You said my name aboard the Reaper. Have we met?" Shepard asked.

"We know of you."

"You mean I've fought a lot of geth?" An edge of hostility crept into her voice.

"We have never met," it said.

"No, you and I haven't. But I've met other geth," Shepard said.

"We are all geth, and we have not met you. You are Shepard-Commander. Alliance. Human. Fought heretics. Killed by the Collectors. Rediscovered on the Old Machine."

Garrus mentally flagged the word heretics with interest but stayed silent.

"Old Machine?" Tali broke in. "You mean the Reaper?"

"Reaper," it said, like it was reading an entry in an encyclopedia. "A superstitious title originating with the Protheans. We call those entities the Old Machines."

Shepard glanced at Tali with an approving look, then turned back to the geth.

"You seem to know an awful lot about me."

"Extranet data sources. Insecure broadcasts. All organic data sent out is received. We watch you."

"You watch me, or you watch organics?"

"Yes," it replied.

"Which?"

"Both."

"Why do the geth are listen in on our transmissions?"

"Organic life reacts to stimuli in unpredictable ways. We wish to learn."

Tali made a scoffing sound. Shepard gave Tali a warning glance. Tali gave a tiny shrug and folded her arms tensely. Garrus took that as a cue to ask his own questions.

"What do you mean, heretics?" Garrus asked.

"Geth build our own future. Heretics asked the Old Machines to give them the future. They are no longer part of us. We were studying the Old Machine's hardware to protect our future."

"What future are the geth building?" Garrus asked.

"Ours," it replied.

Talking to this thing wasn't quite like talking to a VI, which were generally programmed to be helpful. It wasn't like talking to an uncooperative suspect either. Garrus wasn't sure exactly how to handle this interrogation.

"Will anyone else be affected by whatever it is you're doing?" he asked.

"If they involve themselves, they will."

Garrus lowered his pistol, but didn't holster it. The geth's answers were technically non-threatening but they weren't exactly reassuring. Tali's head turned towards him and one hand rose in a questioning gesture. Garrus shrugged. The answers Shepard wanted might come easier if the questions weren't asked at the end of a gun.

"When we took you aboard, I noticed a piece of N7 armor welded to you," Shepard asked. "Where did you get it?"

The geth paused and actually turned its head away from Shepard like an organic subject would do when confronted with an awkward question. Garrus felt his interest sharpen markedly.

"It was yours," it said. "When you disappeared, we were sent to find you. We began our search where you first encountered the heretics."

"Eden Prime," Shepard said.

"After the Old Machines' attack it was heavily defended. We were discovered. This is the impact of a rifle shot."

"You've been trying to find me for two years?" Shepard asked, sounding both impressed and confused.

"We visited Therum, Feros, Noveria, Virmire, Ilos, a dozen of unsettled worlds. The trail ended at Normandy's wreckage. You were not there. Organic transmissions claimed your death. We recovered this debris from your hardsuit."

"How many other geth were sent our to find me?

"We are the only mobile platform beyond the Veil. Organics fear us. We wish to observe, not incite. One platform was judged sufficient."

Tali shifted a little, her posture changing fractionally. Garrus read it as surprise and maybe reluctant interest.

"Why were you trying to contact me?"

"You oppose the heretics. Those that took the Old Machines as gods."

"All kinds of organics fought Sovereign and its geth allies," Shepard said dismissively. "Why am I so interesting?"

"You were the most successful. You killed their god. You succeeded where others did not. Your code is superior."

"That doesn't explain why you used my armor to fix yourself."

"There was a hole."

For the first time, there was a strange intonation in that synthetic voice. Everything that had come before was little more than a cold recitation of facts. This was also stated as a fact, but the geth's tone wasn't so certain.

"But why didn't you fix it sooner?" Shepard pressed, hearing it too. "Or with something else?"

The geth paused, the apeture around its headlamp closing and opening once or twice.

"No data available."

Shepard frowned and went silent. It wasn't the clear-cut answer she wanted but maybe the lack of clarity was even more interesting.

"Shepard-Commander," the geth said into that silence. "We oppose the heretics. We oppose the Old Machines. Shepard-Commander opposes the Old Machines. Shepard-Commander opposes the heretics. Cooperation furthers mutual goals."

"Are you asking to join us?" Shepard asked.

"Yes."

Tali grabbed Shepard by the arm and Shepard glanced at her. Tali tugged Shepard away from the geth and spoke to her so softly Garrus could barely make it out.

"Shepard, you aren't seriously considering letting it go free? Interrogating it was one thing, but.."

"Sounds like there's a schism in the geth," Shepard said. "There's a sect that isn't allied with the Reapers at all."

"The geth were a problem for my people long before they allied with the Reapers," Tali said vehemently.

"It said they only wish to observe organics," Shepard pointed out.

"They're still occupying my homeworld."

"Maybe learning about them by working with this one would would be a better way to learn about them than what your father tried," Shepard said gently. Tali winced anyway. Garrus watched Tali consider for a very long moment, then she nodded with a sort of angry resignation. She didn't stay though, she turned and walked out the door. Shepard turned back to the geth.

Shepard accessed her omni tool and tapped out the command to lower the forcefield. Garrus brought the pistol halfway up into position as she did, but the geth didn't take any additional steps once it was free.

"What should I call you?"

"Geth," it said.

"I mean you, specifically."

"We are all geth."

Shepard blew out a breath and tried again. "What is the individual in front of me called?"

"There is no individual. We are geth. There are currently one thousand, one hundred and eighty-three programs active within this platform."

EDI's little animated ball materialized on her terminal in the room.

"My name is Legion, for we are many."

Shepard chuckled, "That seems appropriate."

Garrus didn't understand the reference and looked at Shepard for guidance. Oddly it was the geth who provided it.

"Christian bible, the Gospel of Mark, chapter five, verse nine. We acknowledge this as an appropriate metaphor. We are Legion, a terminal of the geth. We will integrate into Normandy."

Shepard extended her hard towards Legion. Legion copied her gesture exactly, but didn't seem to know Shepard was offering a handshake. She grabbed its hand and shook it stiffly.

"We anticipate the exchange of data," Legion said.

"Tell EDI what you require to, uh, integrate."

"Affirmative."

Shepard turned to leave. Garrus hesitated, it went against all his instincts to leave a geth intact on the Normandy, rather than blown to pieces.

He leaned down and spoke quietly into Shepard's ear. "We just going to let it roam the ship? Shouldn't it have a guard or something?"

Shepard twined an arm through his and gently drew him out of the AI core and into the medbay.

"If Legion is going to be a part of the team, we have to treat it like any other member," she said once the door had shut behind them.

"But it's not any other member," he said, "It's a geth. It was bad enough getting used to EDI."

"Are you saying you're actually used to EDI now?" Shepard asked, sounding a little amused.

"She's been useful," he said. "And on the Collector ship.. She didn't have to tell us the distress call was faked."

Shepard's smile deepened. "She did not have to, no. Sounds like you trust her."

"No. Maybe. A little," he said, very grudgingly.

"Why not extend a little trust to Legion as well?"

"You mean aside from the three hundred years of conflict with the quarians?"

Shepard chewed on her lip contemplatively, "It's a fair point, but after what it said in there, I gotta wonder if maybe a little trust from organics could make a difference."

"A difference in what, exactly?"

"The quarians are working themselves up to another attempt to retake their homeland," she said. "They're going to get themselves all killed or at least badly weakened in the attempt. The Reapers are coming back sooner rather than later. It's a bad time for any of us to be weak."

"Shepard, you're already taking on the Collectors and the Reapers. Don't tell me you're going to add solving a three hundred year war to your to do list."

"Someone needs to shake some sense into the quarian admiralty."

"It doesn't have to be you."

Shepard shrugged. "Maybe it won't be. The Collectors come first."

"Shepard-Commander."

Garrus whipped around and leveled his gun at the geth standing in the doorway. It made no move towards them, only flared open the hood around its headlamp and closed it again in a placid rhythm while it looked at Shepard attentively. Shepard put her hand on Garrus' weapon and slowly lowered it.

"Yes, Legion? Need something?"

"We have completed our analysis of the Reaper's data core."

"That was fast. Did you find anything useful?"

"We were sent to the Old Machine to preserve the Geth's future. We are prepared to reveal how."

Shepard nodded and turned back to Garrus with an exasperated look on her face. He holstered his gun sheepishly.

"I'll just go calibrate something," he said and left Shepard to talk to the geth.


End file.
